


A Silent Rose Seldom Sings

by maely1234



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, Selectively Mute Ruby, a bunch of random drabbles, diverts from canon, idk how far i want to go, its still there just with angst, loosely follows the canon now just with extra scenes and scenarios, me ruining renora for everyone, might end up being a slow burn, might only be hints of whiterose, my first true drabble fic!, no chronological order though, only very rarely, probably not accurate to how selective mutness works, so very very late, the nora/ren is one sided, woops i'm late, wow i just remembered to put the one sided part in the renora tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2018-09-28 09:08:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 67
Words: 47,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10084163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maely1234/pseuds/maely1234
Summary: A series of short drabbles about life at Beacon if Ruby just happened to be selectively mute. Will switch perspectives from all of Rwby's viewpoints, possible chapters with Jnpr.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> An idea that was inspired by the fic Silent Curse by Raerodrayne, and partly by my new position as a whiterose shipper, although I only ship them in fanfics and not in canon, its weird. I hope you like it, comments are very, very welcome!

                Ruby was never one for words as a child. Small and shy, she preferred to hide behind her mother’s white cloak instead of talking to whatever persons happened to come inside their home. She would always talk to her family though, full of bright smiles and cheerful giggles.

                Yang adored that smile, that voice, everything about her younger sister. She took it all in and cherished it, along with their happy little life on the small island of Patch. The day Summer’s broken body was brought in by Qrow changed it all. Everything that Yang had known was torn to shreds with one accidental glance at the pure white cloak covered in red. 

                Her family disappeared within the short timeframe of a few days, her mother wasn’t really her mother, her father wasn’t infallible; and yet, out of all of this, the thing that changed the most right before Yang’s eyes was Ruby herself. Her sister had been shy before, but nothing like she was now. Ruby wouldn’t even talk to Yang, not unless it was absolutely necessary, and even then, it was only in sentences as short as possible, with a voice only just above a whisper. Soon enough even that stopped, Ruby would just write down whatever she had to say that couldn’t be sufficed by a yes or no answer.

                Yang tried her hardest to snap Ruby out of it, but she was completely in the dark about how to fix it. Their dad was to despondent to really lend a hand, even if he did try, and none of the local doctors had anything useful to offer them. Eventually Yang just began to adapt to Ruby’s condition, learning sign language while teaching it to Ruby so that they could “talk” easier. She was the one who petitioned the school to see Ruby as a special case and not force her to talk; instead, Ruby would write down answers if called on, and used notes when cooperating with others for group work.

                Her and Ruby were just as close at home, but they grew slightly apart at school due to their opposing natures. Yang was bright and bombastic by nature; people were just drawn to her confident smile. Butterflies to a brilliant flower, a flower that just happened to overshadow the thorny rose that grew beside it. Yang had tried to introduce Ruby to her friends, but neither Ruby nor her friends cared for the other party. Yang was forced to begrudgingly accept the fact that her sister was happier alone, with only a select number of people to interact with on an intimate level.

                Ruby was a silent prodigy, not just in Yang’s eyes, but in a statistical sense as well. Ruby had decided to follow Yang’s footsteps in attending Signal Academy, and had quickly become a constant companion to their Uncle Qrow, a teacher there. Ruby had matched her fighting style to his while making some personal adjustments, all in the short span of a year. Ruby had taken to scythe wielding so much that she had even designed and made her own by the end of the first few months at Siganl. Her skill was not to be overlooked, even when she was without aura for the first year at signal. She could dodge and weave around attacks so well that when in practice matches, Ruby could come out completely unscathed against an opponent who had a full aura.

                Her semblance had come soon after, Ruby was a late bloomer when it came to aura, Yang having unlocked her own at the ripe age of 7 compared to the 13 years it had taken Ruby. However, that didn’t diminish its strength, truly, Ruby’s newfound power of running at lighting speeds was one that made her even more formidable in battle. And even more prominent to her superiors and classmates.

                But Yang knew that different didn’t always translate to better in people’s eyes, which was why she didn’t like leaving Ruby all alone to go to Beacon. Dad had improved a lot over the years, even going back to his job at signal. So, Ruby would have some help on that front, but there was a distance between them and Dad from his years of regret and depression. It had gotten to a point to where Yang and Ruby were their own family unit, with Dad only pitching in occasionally.

                That fear probably contributed to her growing smile as she stared down at her younger sister, who was scratching the back of her head sheepishly while showing Yang the note that explained her acceptance into beacon. Ruby was going to Beacon. Two years ahead of schedule. This was perfect!

                “Ruby, I’m so proud of you!” Yang grabbed Ruby in a tight hug, ignoring the girl’s squirms of protest.

                **“It’s nothing.”** Ruby signed to her as soon as she was let down.

                “Nothing? It’s incredible sis, everyone is going to think you’re the bee’s knees here. Even more than they did at Signal.” Yang couldn’t believe Ruby, getting excepted into Vale’s most prestigious school two years early was nothing?

                **“I don’t want to be the ‘bee’s knees’ sis, I just hope I don’t stand out too much.”** Ruby signed back, shoulders slumping.

                “Don’t worry about it sis, you’re amazing, and everyone at Beacon will know that too.” Yang said back, slinging an arm over Ruby’s shoulder. Soon enough, Ruby would see, going Beacon could only change things for the better.


	2. Accidents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter, it was nice. Hope you like this chapter too!

                In her defense, Ruby didn't mean to crash into the girl. Disoriented from Yang’s burst of energy as she went and abandoned her to go find more friends, she stumbled backwards into the unsuspecting girl. Not only the girl, but her luggage as well, sending vials of dust everywhere.

                “What do you think you’re doing?” The girl rounded on her immediately, staring down at her with brilliantly blue eyes. Her white hair was so bright that it almost sparkled in the wind, and only made her sharp eyes stand out even more.

                Ruby had taken out her scroll, not like she could count on everyone knowing sign language, and typed out her response, fingers flying across the keypad. _“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you.”_

                “Sorry? That’s all you can say? This is dust, mined from the Schnee Dust Company’s mines. Its priceless to any decent huntress. I didn’t fight my way into this school just to be sent home because some clumsy kid can’t keep her hands to herself.” The girl’s eyes were storming, and Ruby could see that her closed fists were trembling with fury.

                _“I’m really, really sorry. But none of your dust broke, so that’s good.”_ Ruby promptly typed and held it out to the girl.

                “It doesn’t have to break to be deadly. You can just wave it in the air and its already a disaster waiting to happen. But I don’t think some kid like you would know that.” The girl picked up a vial of red dust and shook it for affect, the red powder spreading through the air.

                The powder invading her nose, Ruby started to sniffle and tried to warn the girl before the inevitable occurred. But it was already too late.

                “Achoo!” Ruby sneezed, a flame sparking to life as the dust reacted to the sudden excitement. The flames covered the poor girl hovering over her, engulfing her in their smoldering heat. Once the smoke had cleared, Ruby took the chance to stand back up but was left facing a now smoke covered girl glaring at her. 

                “See! This is exactly what I meant. Are you even supposed to be here?” The girl snarled, shoving her face near Ruby’s shrinking form.

                “I said I was sorry, princess!” Ruby voice, hoarse and faded, shouted out, startling even Ruby. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had done, and with a whirl of rose petals she was gone. Leaving the snow haired girl behind to her confusion.

                Once she was far enough away, Ruby let out a sigh of relief and slumped against the wall, letting it do the hefty job of supporting her weight.

                What was she thinking, why did she do that? Go Ruby, finally say something to someone other than her sister and it’s an insult! Now that girl was sure to hate her, well maybe that was inevitable, but it still wasn’t the way she wanted to start off her new school life. All she wanted was a normal first day at a new school, was that too much to ask? Stupid body, doing weird things out of nowhere.

                She had promised herself before coming to Beacon to try and talk to people, finally let her voice out after years of forcing it down. And what happens? She starts freezing up when all she wants is to shout with excitement, shrink back when she wants to join a conversation. Her body rebelling against her wishes, a culmination of infuriating juxtapositions that she could never seem to escape.

                But still, her first words to a stranger in over 10 years. And who knows, maybe the girl wouldn’t hate her after this? Ruby sure hoped so, she would like the chance to get to know the girl on better terms.


	3. Reflections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to get into Blake's side of things. Enjoy!

Blake was never one for uncertainties, they never bode well for someone in her position. If someone managed to get the upper hand on you it was over. No one survived an attack they weren’t expecting, not unless it happened within the sanctioned rounds of a tournament.

However, Beacon was the epitome of uncertainty, even more so for someone like her. She almost wondered how she had managed to make it so far, but then again, she had handled much worst before. As of now, she wasn’t sure whether or not her teammates would become one of those situations.

Blake could admit, the pair of sisters she was with were definitely interesting. They were a conundrum of personality traits and features. It wouldn’t take anyone long enough to find that out though; that was, if anyone could guess that those two were sisters at all.

So, ending up on a team with both was a blessing and a curse. She could satisfy her curiosity about them, but she would also have to deal with Yang’s overfriendly nature and Weiss in general. Not like she was upset with Yang’s nature, but it was a little overwhelming for her. She was just a little too used to solitude, she supposed.

And as much as Yang liked to get in her face with excitement, Ruby would stay silent, a peaceful smile plastered across her face as she watched from a distance. Well, not always a literal distance. There was something about Ruby that reminded Blake of herself. Silence was a barrier, a wall of separation, a cocoon to wrap yourself in so you don’t get hurt by the people around you. Except, Blake couldn’t possibly see what Ruby could have gone through to get the same mindset. Whatever had happened, Yang was sure to have gone through it as well, but the effects couldn’t have been more different.

Blake was sure she could figure it out given time, and that was something she was going to have a lot of at Beacon. Four years to change herself for the better, and four years to hide her faunus heritage.

She was confident that Ruby and Yang would accept her, but Weiss? As if. The girl probably had racism engrained in her mind since she could walk. She probably wouldn’t even accept a faunus, let alone on that used to be involved with the White Fang.

Blake could argue and plead her change of heart and value until her voice was hoarse, but none of it would go through the Schnee’s prejudiced ears. And what if Yang and Ruby didn’t believe her? It wasn’t assured, and if it went wrong she would end up being driven away by the first people she had met outside the White Fang in years.

Blake was used to hiding though, she could pull this off. Just keep her animalistic tendencies under control and her bow nice and snug. She could do this. And maybe, just maybe, the day would come where she could reveal herself without fear of persecution. But she was never one to believe in ideals.


	4. Teammates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's funny actually, because I had this chapter already written when I posted the last chapter, and I decided to leave the comments asking about initiation alone to avoid spoilers. Enjoy!

                Weiss couldn’t believe any of this, every event that had transpired over the past 24 hours may as well be some crazy dream.

She was actually at Beacon despite her father’s protests, and…that was where the positives ended. She didn’t even get close to partnering up with Pyrrha, and instead was now stuck with the weird girl who couldn’t speak; but could somehow? Weiss could clearly remember the girl insulting her, so the girl could talk but just, didn’t, for some reason. Sure, the girl had typed up some random explanation in the forest about her “condition,” and wouldn’t say a word the entire mission, but that still didn’t explain it. Even when they were trying to take down the nevermore she wouldn’t talk! Her sister had to translate her sign language for them, but what if her sister hadn’t had been there, what then? And that was only the start.

She was on a team with another quiet girl and one who wouldn’t ever shut up. Out of all of those options, who does Ozpin choose to be leader. The obvious choice, of course, the girl who refused to speak to anyone, and not the only sane and competent person on the entire team. It was absurd!

Weiss had the abilities, the drive, the experience, she was the best choice for leader. Not some underage kid who couldn’t even properly communicate with her teammates.

Their first day as a team only proved that in Weiss’s opinion. Ruby spent the entirety of the day idling away when she should be paying attention in class, then had the nerve to try and give her tips fighting against the Boarbatusk, via notes written on a sheet of paper, and then acted as if she was the one in the right. It was infuriating.

She tried to express this to Professor Port after class, surely he would see the terrible mistake Ozpin made, right? He didn’t. Instead, he has the nerve to say that she was the one who was wrong in this, not Ruby. Ridiculous!

But, maybe he did have a couple of good points. She knew that she was ignorant about a lot of things, whether she liked it or not, thanks to her upbringing. And Ruby was capable when it came to fighting, seven if her style was incredible sloppy. She did come up with the plan to defeat the nevermore, even if Yang had to translate it. Maybe Ruby did deserve another chance, but Weiss was only willing to give one. One more day to make or break her opinion, just one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, feel free to leave chapter ideas down below, i'd love to hear other suggestions!


	5. Little Talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weiss and Ruby's late night conversation.

                “Ruby, how do you take your coffee?”

                Weiss watched as Ruby jumped up, her question waking the girl from her bed scattered with papers and books.   Ruby tilted her head in and obvious sign of confusion, then, seeing Weiss’ gaze on her, she scrambled to find a blank piece of paper, scribbling a quick message onto it.

                _“I wasn’t slacking off I swear! I was trying to study and fell asleep. I’m sorry!”_

“Its fine Ruby; now, how do you take your coffee?” Wiess ignored Ruby’s shocked look, waiting patiently as the shocked girl processed the question, and eventually was handed a sheet of paper.

                _“One cream and five sugars.”_

                Weiss nodded and went off to add the cream and sugars to the coffee she had prepared beforehand. To give any chance for Ruby to improve herself in Weiss’ eyes, they had to at least talk to one another. Although, they were already heading in the right direction, Ruby had actually been studying, something Weiss hadn’t expected given her behavior earlier today.

                Making sure not to spill the coffee that she held, Weiss balanced herself on the edge of the bottom bunk bed, another one of Ruby's crazy ideas, and though the beds were definitely strange and unstable, Weiss couldn’t find it in herself to hate them.

                Weiss watched as Ruby took the glass tentatively, sending nervous glances at Weiss, never letting her eyes rest.

                “Relax dolt. I just wanted to say that I’m, I’m sorry for today. I may have jumped to conclusions about you. But I do think you have what it takes to be leader. If only you’d focus more.” Weiss forced down the grin that threatened to leap to her face when she saw Ruby visibly relax and give her a wide smile in exchange.

                _“I’m sorry if I did something wrong, but I promise I’ll try to be the best leader I can, no matter what it takes.”_ The note was passed with a sheepish scratch of Ruby’s neck.

                “You better do one hell of a job then, because if I’m going to have to be your teammate, then I’m going to be the best teammate that you’ve ever seen.” Weiss challenged, making sure to keep the bite out of her voice. 

                _“I’ll make sure I live up to the challenge. I even know how we can get around the fact that I can’t speak.”_

“Ruby, about that, are you sure you can’t talk? I know I heard you say something when we first met. ‘I said I was sorry, princess,’ was it?” Weiss asked, smirking when Ruby’s face turned as red as the cape resting on her back.

                _“That was, well, I’m sorry about that, and that was, that was an accident. I wasn’t even expecting to say that, it just sort of, came out. Which sounds weird I know, but it’s the only way I can explain it.”_

“Okay,” Weiss carefully read through the explanation handed to her before speaking, “but what’s stopping you from talking all the other times?”

                _“When I was younger, I didn’t want to talk to anyone, not even my family after, well, after my mom died. Now, I finally want to talk to people, but I can’t, no matter how hard I try. It’s like I forgot how to talk at all, except I know that I can still do it. There’s just something inside my head that’s holding me back. I’ve tried everything I can think of but nothing works. You’re the first person I’ve spoken to in about 10 years. Kind of funny, isn’t it?”_

“Oh.” Was the only thing Weiss could say at the realization. The rushed reasoning Ruby had given her in the emerald forest hadn’t even hinted at this at all. Weiss had thought it was a preference not to speak, not a mental inability too. She knew what it felt like to be held back from something you want to do, or stopped from speaking your mind when you felt like shouting out your resentment to the world, but that was someone else holding her back, not her own head. How imprisoning must that be?

                “I’m sorry about your mother.” Weiss said politely, her mother may have her flaws but at least she was still here.

                Ruby only responded with an absentminded shrug, their conversation falling into an awkward silence.

                “Well, whenever you learn how to talk again you better make sure to keep it under control. You seem like one of those people who would never shut up-what?” Weiss paused, seeing Ruby’s gaze turn to one of pure wonder.

                _“Sorry, just, no one’s ever said something like that to me. It’s kind of a shock.”_

“Not even Yang?”

                _“No. No. No. Don’t get the wrong idea, Yang’s super supportive and helpful, but she just sort of accepted me like this. She stopped trying to get me to talk a long time ago.”_

“Why? It’s obvious that you’ll end up talking sooner or later. You’re definitely stubborn enough to pull through with it.” Weiss felt herself squirm slightly under Ruby’s gaze, which had somehow grown wider with her statement. She wasn’t used to this much honest appreciation. Winter loved her and all, but she was cold and distant most of the time. Weiss didn’t blame her though, affection was something the Schnee family had no time for unless it was behind lock doors and closed windows.

                “Look, its late, and I want some sleep so we can actually get to class on time tomorrow. Good luck studying. By the way, number three is wrong.” Weiss said before going back into her bed below.

                A scrap of paper floated down, Weiss grabbed onto it reading the message written on it.

                _“Thanks for the coffee Weiss.”_

“You know Ruby, I’ve always wanted bunk beds.”  Weiss looked up at the bottom of her partner’s bed above her, a contended smile forming on her lips. She and Ruby had more in common than she thought.


	6. Extracurricular Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yang is determined to teach Weiss and Blake an important skill.   
> Also, all sign language is now bolded for clarity. Enjoy!

                “Okay kids, time to get educated.” Yang slammed a pile of books onto the table where Blake and Weiss sat, both dragged there by Yang a few minutes earlier.

                “Why are we here? We don’t have classes today.” Blake said, giving Yang a scathing look.

                “Exactly, I have better things I could be doing with my time.” Weiss agreed for once.

                “Not anymore you don’t, cause if you want to be on a team with my sister then there’s one requirement.” Yang replied.

                “Patience?” Weiss asked, raising her eyebrows.

                “Nope, sign language.” Yang said, sending an irritated glare in Weiss’ direction.

                “Doesn’t it take years to learn another language?” Blake asked, picking up one of the books to glance at its title, “Sign Your Way Through Life.”

                “We have four more years together, don’t we?” Yang pointed out, earning a huff from Weiss.

                “It is necessary if we want to be successful on missions.” Blake admitted.

                “That’s the spirit Blake, wouldn’t it be awesome if we could be completely silent when closing in on somebody. No one would ever hear us coming.” Yang smile turned wide as she looked expectantly at Weiss.

                “It would be useful considering the confusion we had with the nevermore.” Weiss said begrudgingly. “But I still would rather be spending my time off doing something relaxing.”

                “Nice! We’ll start with commands that could come in handy for missions. You guys can pick up on conversations later.” Yang ignored Weiss’ ending statement as she opened one of the books to a page previously bookmarked, pointing to a diagram on the paper. “We’ll start here. This is the sign for move, like move from here to there or from one side to the other.”

                Yang held in her laughter as she watched Weiss and Blake try to follow the movement shown, their limbs awkward and stiff.

                “Hey guys, you know Ruby will be able to as- _sign_ us positions soon enough.” Yang said, laughing at the deadpan looks she was shot back, but at least now the tension was broken. At this rate, she needed more puns, many, many more puns.

                Another laugh followed the poorly made joke, not noticeable to the other girls, being near silent, with tiny, raspy noises accompanying it. Ruby stood across the library, hiding behind a bookshelf as she spied on the rest of her team fondly. She couldn’t believe that Yang was going to teach Weiss and Blake sign language, it was sweet, and useful. But seriously, that had to be one of the worst puns she’s heard out of Yang thus far, and she's been hearing Yang's puns for years.

                “Ruby, a pleasure to see you.” A quiet and respectful voice called out softly from behind. Ruby turned to see Ren standing behind her a slight smile on his stoic face.

                **“Where’s Nora?”** Ruby signed to him, not bothering to even try to find paper to write on.

                **“Trying to see how many books she can stack before they fall. I gave up trying to stop her.”** Ren signed back, his hands moving deftly with experience.

                **“Yang’s teaching Weiss and Blake sign language. It’s fun to watch.”** Ruby explained her actions, although he probably had already caught wind of what she was doing.

                The thunder of books cascading to the ground interrupted the two of them, Ren swiftly leaving to go deal with whatever damage Nora had caused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ren prefers to use sign language to communicate with Ruby, so that he doesn't actually have to say anything out loud to her unless necessary. He just likes his peace and quiet, unless Nora is involved.


	7. Encouragement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My version of Ruby's pep talk to Jaune. Enjoy!

                Jaune sighed, lowering himself down to the floor. Pulling his knees in closer, he sighed again.

                “Why am I always such a failure?”

                A tap on his shoulder pulled his attention, and he looked up to see Ruby staring back down at him, her eyes wide as her head tilted with confusion.

                “Ah, you didn’t happen to overhear that, did you?” Jaune said with a nervous chuckle, which faded as Ruby frowned down at him, clearly upset with his choice of words.

                Ruby sat down beside him, staring at him thoughtfully for a moment before pulling out her scroll. Typing a quick message into it, she held it out for Jaune to read.

                _“You’re not a failure Jaune.”_

                “Yes I am.” Jaune sighed, running a hand through his hair.

                Ruby simply shook her head, a small smile on her face.

                “How do you know? I can’t even be a good friend, how am I supposed to be a leader?” Jaune clenched his fist, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to tell the truth for once. Something he had been avoiding the moment he set foot in the academy.

                Ruby was completely still besides for her fingers, which were typing furiously. She held out her scroll to Jaune, her smile growing as he took it from her.

                _“I don’t know exactly what you’re thinking right now, but I have a guess, and I've felt like you do before. That was different though, I was younger, I didn’t have a whole team relying on me then. But you do. Jaune, you can’t afford to be a failure. This isn’t about you anymore, this is about your team. If you go down, so do they. Do they deserve that? So, instead of being mad at yourself, and calling yourself a failure, work to change that. Make so that no one can call you unworthy again, prove them wrong. Not for you, but for your team. You’re a leader Jaune, Ozpin wanted you to be leader for a reason. Now go and prove that he chose the best person for the job. Just like im trying to.”_

“But Ruby? Why would anyone question you as leader? You’re clearly made for it.” Jaune stared at Ruby, his own worries pushed aside as he tried to figure out who on earth wouldn’t want her as a leader.

                _“I have my own problems, just like everyone else. I’m good at fighting, but I can’t talk to people. Even now, don’t you think this conversation would be smoother if you didn’t have to wait for my response every time. And that’s only the major one. Everyone has flaws, and everyone learns to live and use them to their greatest, one way or the other.”_

“You know, you’re pretty good at pep talks for someone who doesn’t talk.” Jaune said, smiling.

                Ruby smiled back at him, giving him one last comforting pat before walking back into her room, leaving Jaune to ponder more.


	8. Bets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I forgot to upload this yesterday, I had it written out and everything but just forgot. Go me. But about the chapter, there's no real set viewpoint in this, so it jumps around from character to character, sorry if it comes off as a little weird to read.

“Yang, how fast can Ruby move?” Weiss called out, the usual bite to her words gone for once.

“I don’t know exactly. But I bet you she could go from the front entrance to her in under 15 seconds.” Yang said, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of a bet.

“As if I would bet on anything. Your input was appreciated, somewhat.” Weiss said, her voice returning to the cold and distant normalcy.

“I’ll bet on that.” Blake spoke up, a small smile on her face as she looked up from her book.

“Seriously?” Yang asked, both her and Weiss staring disbelieving at the girl.

“Sure, seems like it’ll be interesting.” Blake replied, closing her book. “So when do you want to do it?”

“Just give me like an hour.” Yang grinned, clasping her hands together in glee. “I am so getting JNPR in on this!”

About an hour later, both team RWBY and JNPR were gathered in team RWBY’s room.

“Ruby could you go with Weiss for a few minutes. Please?” Yang asked, giving Ruby a hopeful smile.

Ruby tilted her head in confusion, but agreed readily enough. Waving goodbye to the people left behind inside the room, her and Weiss walked out silently.

“How are you guys doing this?” Jaune asked.

“With these.” Yang said triumphedly, fetching a tray of chocolate chip cookies from underneath her bed.

“But how will you be able to judge how fast Ruby is going from two separate locations?” Pyrrha chimed in.

“Weiss will text me the time she plans to start her stopwatch. I’ll start mine at the same time and she’ll tell me when Ruby left. I’ll know when Ruby gets here, so we’ll settle it by comparing the times.” Yang explained. “You guys might want to move to the side. Glynda will kill us if Ruby ends up tackling one of you guys through a wall.”

Everyone else moved to the side, although Nora had to be tugged along by Ren.

“Are you sure this is safe? It’s a pretty small room.” Jaune gulped, hand moving to his shield instinctively.

“We’ll be fine Jaune, I’m sure Yang knows exactly what she’s doing, and so do we.” Pyrrha put a comforting hand on Jaune’s shoulder, smiling as the tension flowed out of him.

“She’ll be here in a minute.” Yang warned, still grinning madly. She moved the cookies back onto her bed; Ruby would be miserable if they were trampled.

“This is gonna be exciting, right Ren?” Nora squealed, hopping excitedly. Yang still stood in the center of the room, a perfect target if Ruby came in too fast. Not like she wanted either of them to get hurt, but it would be pretty cool. Maybe even better than the Ursa she had ridden…nah, the Ursa would have top spot for a while.

“Coming!” Yang exclaimed, starting the stopwatch while watching the door expectedly.

Ruby did not disappoint, the door flew open with a whirlwind of rose petals in mere seconds. Her blurry figure shot right past Yang, skidding to a halt right before she would have crashed into the wall.

Once the backdraft died down, Ruby turned around, storming over to Yang. She was signing with obvious annoyance, a petulant frown on her face as she stood in front of Yang.

“Relax sis, it was a joke. We would never eat cookies without you. They’re under my bed, you can have them if you want.” Yang assured her younger sister.

The frown quickly turned into a wide grin, the young girl literally diving for the cookies, sucking them down in almost an instant.

“I didn’t think that was humanly possible.” Jaune said, his wide eyes flicking between Ruby and the now empty plate.

“What? How fast she got here or how fast she ate those cookies?” Blake deadpanned back.

“Both.” Jaune replied, still shocked at the sight before him. Ruby was back up on her feet, signing to Yang calmly like the whole situation was completely normal.

“They were both impressive.” Pyrrha agreed readily.

“No one got trampled though…” Nora seemed to wilt a tiny bit, only to perk back up. “Do you think she could eat pancakes faster than me? That’d be awesome!”

“I wonder what they said to her?” Ren asked quietly. His question was met with a shared shrug from everyone, apparently only Yang and Weiss knew the answer.

Later, when Weiss had returned and the time approximated, everyone stood slacked jawed as they viewed the final estimation.

Seven to ten seconds. That was the maximum time it had taken Ruby. Begrudgingly, everyone who had made the wrong bet handed over what was due to Yang, all except Weiss.

“Why isn’t Weiss giving up her 10 lien?” Nora pouted.

“Because I chose the winning side.” Weiss stated, crossing her arms smugly.

“I thought you didn’t make bets.” Blake pointed out, eyes narrowing.

“I only bet when I know I’ll win.” Weiss smirked back, and continued to as she collected her half of the bet money.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To anyone who's wondering, yes they could have just asked her like normal people. But where's the fun in that?


	9. Red Like...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A glimpse into what Ruby went through as a child, and a tiny bit of her teenage self.

Ruby’s always dreamed in red. Even as a child, it was scattered throughout her subconscious imaginings. Red flowers littered her fields, red curtains in her house, her heroes all had red weapons with red hair to match.

                She never thought to much of it, her red-filled dreams from early childhood. Red was the color of roses, like the ones daddy gave mommy. Red was in the fire that amazed her to look at, but not to touch. Red was love, peace, security.

                Then she had ‘the dream,’ the one that still haunts her from time to time, and everything she thought she knew was shattered.

                She was standing in a snow covered field, lifeless trees encircling her. She looked up at the gray sky, and watched as white petals fell from the sky. That was okay though, white was mommy’s color, like her cape, which would wrap around her whenever she was scared. She laughed, running around as she tried to catch the petals. All of them slipped through her fingers. Until one finally drifted into her awaiting fingers. She stared at it with glee, grinning. Her eyes narrowed as the petal shifted though, turning bright red before melting into a little puddle of red stuff in her hand. She poked at it, curiosity blooming the longer she looked. It was like juice, except she had never seen red juice. It felt warm as it ran through her fingers, splattering onto the ground and turning the snow red too.

                All of the petals were red now, and any she touched turned into the red stuff. These ones drifted towards her, almost following her around, unlike the white petals.  

                Staring into the distance, Ruby could see that the trees had parted. She squinted, she thought she could see a rock in the distance, but before the dream ended she had been shook awake.

                She knew what the stone was now. A white slab sticking out of the ground, smooth and polished with a rose insignia carved into it. Now she could walk up to it in that dream, the trees only ever parting for it.

                Back then though, she didn’t have a clue. About any of it, about anything at all.

                Mommy left the day after the dream, she would always remember their final moments together.

                Mommy had smiled down at her, patting her head as she comforted her depressed child hood self.

                “I’ll see you soon honey. Don’t worry about it, I’ll see you soon.” And then mommy never came back. Ruby had wanted to tell her not to go, not to leave her. Even without knowing the implications, the dream left a bad feeling in her gut. Her mommy was the strongest, nobody ever beat her, she knew that, but still…

                None of it connected until a few days later, when daddy dropped a cup on the floor. He had been talking to someone on his scroll, when the glass had slipped from his fingers.

                He sliced one of his fingers trying to pick up the pieces, he didn’t even notice the wound until Ruby had pointed it out to him. She asked what the red stuff coming out of his hand was. He called it blood, and said it came out of someone if they got hurt.

                That night, Ruby got the news, and she cried. She sobbed her eyes out, falling asleep with tears stains covering her face.           

                The dream came back again, except this time Ruby only cried through it. She didn’t know what was happening anymore. Mommy wasn’t coming back? But she always came back, always. She even said she would come back. So why wasn’t she home? Maybe she was just late, she wasn’t gone, just late. She could be home any day now.

                The petals seemed to whisper to her, reassuring her. She didn’t need it though, mommy was coming home. Maybe even tomorrow. Ruby could wait a couple days, mommy was just late, that’s all.

                Mommy didn’t come, she never came. But the dream stayed, creeping in whenever she closed her eyes.

                She knew now, she at least knew that the dream had been telling her something. She should have told mommy about it. Maybe mommy wouldn’t have left then. Why didn’t she just tell her?

                What if she was just cursed? Mommy left. Daddy could leave. Yang could leave. Uncle Qrow could leave too. Everyone could leave. She would be alone. Maybe she could just ask them to stay. But she asked mommy to stay, and mommy left anyways.

                Why did she even bother talking at all? It didn’t change anything. Why should she talk to people if they could just leave?  She shouldn’t. Every time she did, it could be the last thing she ever said to them before they left her. She wouldn’t talk. Not to anyone. She wouldn’t lose anybody like that again.

                The red petals falling around her turned into a flurry, swallowing her whole as she woke.

                Now red was danger. Red was death. Red was getting hurt. Red was the color of blood. Red was the glow of grimm eyes as they tried to hunt her down. Red was pain, but a familiar and comforting one.

                She wrapped herself in red, donning a cloak to represent the crimson roses from her dreams. It became a part of her. The girl who had roses fly from her whenever she ran. All her clothes had red on them, even if I told was just a tiny patch. 

                She’s always dreamed in red. Watching the ones she loved become covered in it. Watching it engulf her as she stood helpless. Watching those same petals drift down towards her expectant hands. Smiling with bitter irony as she played with the red that sat in her finger tips, making trails in the snow as she walked towards the same cold rock that awaited her.

                Red was ever changing before her very eyes, but it was always in her dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To help explain parts of this chapter, I have to explain a certain head canon of mine involving silver eyed warriors, so just skip if you're not interested.  
> \--First of all, I think silver eyed warriors have a connection with death. Even though they are meant to destroy grimm, the personification of destruction, I don't think it makes them the direct opposite of grimm. Ruby's power was pretty destructive on its own, even when Ruby had no control over it. I mean, look at Cinder. Does that look like the opposite of destruction?  
> \--There was a clear implication in volume four with Ruby and Pyrrha during that nighttime scene. Sure the voice was part of a recording, but the voice in her dreams wasn't. Suggesting to me of some sort of an ability to connect to those who are dead.  
> \--Also, in the song red like roses, the lyrics are written out as a conversation between Ruby and Summer. Something that would only be possible if Ruby had some kind of connection to the spirits of the deceased.  
> \--That's just why the dream was like it was, an early manifestation of her abilities. Although it wasn't prophetic, the only reason it appeared was because Summer's death was already unavoidable.


	10. Suspicions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blake starts to wonder if she isn't the only one who knows about the ears resting under her bow.

                Blake was becoming paranoid. Ruby somehow knew about her faunus heritage, Blake could feel it.

                Ruby kept giving her fish, of any sort but mostly tuna. And everytime she handed it over, she had this knowing smile on her face, one that left Blake worried to no end.               

                She paced around the empty dorm, growling to herself as she turned over possibilities in her head.

                It could just be Ruby being weird, but why fish? The single food she couldn’t help but crave as a cat faunus. What if Ruby knew, and was planning to use it as blackmail? She didn’t think Ruby was like that, but one couldn’t deny the possibility. 

                Her ears flexed, lowering as her teeth clenched. She couldn’t keep wondering about this, it was only fueling her obsessive tendencies.

                She would have to ask Ruby directly. Face to face.

                Oh god, she wasn’t up for this. She could fight grimm without batting an eyelash, stand completely calm at gunpoint, excecute attacks with deadly efficiency, but there was no way in hell she could talk about her heritage. Not yet, maybe not ever.

                Ruby could go around sharing her secret with everyone. Then everone would be just as quick to judge her by her ears as they were her skill. She didn’t need that. She didn’t want that. She was just trying to reform herself, isn’t that enough? 

                Her ears swiveled, pick up the sound of footsteps near the door. Quickly, Blake pulled out a book from her bookshelf, opening it to a random page as she sat down.

                Ruby walked in, alone. She gave a cheerful wave to Blake as she climbed onto her bunk.

                Blake pretended to keep reading, only nodding in Ruby’s direction. It was now or never. It might be a month before she got Ruby completely alone like this again. What should she say though? If she screwed this up, then her secret could be revealed to Ruby for no good reason, or her worst fears would only be confirmed.

                This might be one of those things she just had to go for, no matter what may come of it. She reflexively smiled as Adam’s advice came back to her. She quickly shook away the nostalgia. Adam was a complete monster, she knew that now, and the advice was given for her first attack on a racist shopowner. But that wasn't the point. He was in the past now, as was her old self. 

                “Ruby?” Blake asked softly, half hoping Ruby wouldn’t hear her. She was left disappointed though, as Ruby immediately poped her head over the edge of the bed.

                “Why do you keep giving me fish?” Blake went for the straightforward approach, fingers tapping nervously as she waited for Ruby’s response.

                Ruby got up and handed her scroll to Blake. Settling herself beside Blake in the process.

                _“I thought you’d like it. I saw you staring at the fish they had for us at lunch once, and I thought you might like it. But you didn’t eat any, so maybe you didn’t like to eat it around others? Anyways, I was just trying to make sure you were happy and comfortable. I’m your leader after all.”_

                “Oh.” Blake felt stupid now. All that panicking, for nothing. Of course Ruby was just trying to be considerate. And she had been eying that fish pretty badly last week. “You didn’t have to.”

              _“Sorry if you don’t like it. I’ll stop if you want."_ The reply was instantaneous, the words flying onto the scroll as soon as it left Blake's hands.

                 "Hmm, maybe just not as much fish, but you can keep giving me some if you feel like it." Blake agreed, a small smile blooming now that the situation was much less tense. 

                  Ruby nodded in agreement, moving back up to her bed as Blake stood up to put the book back in its shelf. 

                   Blake thanked Ruby in her thoughts, not wanting to say the words put loud. She hoped her leader got the message though. Someone who wasn't a faunus had considered her wants for the first time in months, and that was more than enough to satisfy her for now.

 


	11. Discipline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruby gets some shocking information from Professor Peach.

                Ruby started when she was singled out at the end of class by Professor Peach.

“Ruby, I need a word with you after class.” Her shrill voice made Ruby jump out of her bored stupor.

Ruby nodded in agreement, the professor going back to teaching as usual. What in the world could professor Peach want from her? She hadn’t dozed off anytime recently. She had passed the latest test. And she participated as well as she could in class. So, what could it be?

Yang signed the same question to her, Ruby could only shrug in response.

The bell rang, signaling the students dismissal. Ruby stayed behind though, moving back and forth on the balls of her feet as she waved to her teammates.

“Ruby,” Professor Peach pushed her aburn hair out of her face, looking directly at Ruby. “it came to my attention during last week’s exercise that you seldom go anywhere without your cloak, am I wrong?”

Ruby shook her head. Her cloak was always with her, her source of familiarity away from home.

“There are no specific rules against it,” Peach’s voice was stern, her eyes leaving no room for argument. “but I have to ask you not to wear it during school hours anymore. Professor Glynda agreed with me when I brought up the subject.”

Ruby only stared blankly at the professor, her hands clenching the cloak wrapped around her shoulders.

“I’m sorry if it upsets you, but the cloak simply causes too many unwanted accidents on a day to day basis. There’s no issue when it comes any time after school, or on field trips, but starting tomorrow your teachers will start penalizing you if the cloak is with you.” Professor Peach concluded, giving Ruby a concerned stare. “I hope you understand. The cloak is too accident prone, for you and for your peers.”

Ruby just nodded, her body functioning on auto pilot as she walked out of the classroom.

Great. This was just peachy, as Yang would say. Way to go Ruby.

What should she do now?


	12. It Starts Off Small

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruby finds some unintended consequences to the cloak ban that was issued.

          Honestly, Ruby was surprised this hadn't happened sooner. Kind of depressing considering the situation at hand, but it was just a fact of her life by now.

          Being the one kid who wouldn't say a word, it tended to draw attention, and not the good kind. The never ending teasing from her peers became a background noise to her ears, ever present but not something she focused on. Things never really went past that though, usually none dared to face Yang's wrath.

          Ruby could hide hurt feelings, but she couldn't hide a bruise. And Yang always sought compensation, going far beyond just 'making it even.'

          Cardin, unfortunately, had no idea of this when he shoved Ruby down in the hallway. Him and his buddies found her on her own between classes, and had taken the opportunity accordingly.

          Her head hit the wall with an uncomfortable thump, even with her aura. Although she was honestly just glad that none of her papers had spilled out from her notebook as she had fallen. She's been through that before, and it was not enjoyable to try and snatched her precious schoolwork back from unwilling fingers.

          "What's wrong loser?" Cardin jeered, smirking down at her.

          "Does the little baby miss her blanket?" One of his friends, Ruby never bothered to learn any of their names besides Cardin's, jabbed, pointing to her now cloak-less shoulders.

          Ah, that was what initiated this. They'd taken her restriction as the perfect reason to find someone else to try and torment.

          Ruby didn't rise to the challenge though, simply collecting her things as she stood. Fights never ended well, and she was not dragging her team into this.

          "Don't be rude guys. Not like she can answer you." Another one sneered, a haughty glint in his eyes. That comment got a laugh out of them, the whole group chortling in malicious glee.

          Ruby opened her mouth to retort, what she wanted to say ringing clear in her mind, but she couldn't make out the sounds. Her body once again refused to make even the simplest of syllables. She slammed her mouth shut, burning as she slinked her way past Cardin's group to keep walking to her next class, trying to shut out the laughter that rang in her receding ears

          A hand grabbed her shoulder, it's iron grip turning her around to face her pursuers.

          "Come on wimp, why don't you show us your big scary attack?" Cardin taunted, not noticing the smirk that crept onto Ruby's face.

          Ruby wrenched herself out of Cardin's grip, twisting around the team before they could do anything in response. She then sped off towards her next class, leaving the now dazed bullies sitting in the hallway to try and clear their heads.

          Ruby found the rest of her teammates waiting for her when she arrived. She didn't miss the shadow that crossed Yang's face when they met each others eyes though, the older sibling looking at where the cloak had sat with a grimace.

          _"Sorry. I forgot something in Oobleck's room."_ Ruby passed the note along, keeping her face passive even as Yang gave her a second look over, eyes narrowed.

          She was fine. She could handle a couple of stereotypical bullies, it's not like the ever went for something original anways. She's already seen everything that could be thrown her way by now. She just had to avoid them for the next four years somehow.

          She had her speed on her side, making for a simple, but effective plan. Ignore and run until they lose interest. Problem solved! She'll have to leave her team out of this though, or at the very least Yang.

          It was stupid, really. She could handle something as small as this on her own.

 


	13. Ruined

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruby comes back to her dorm to find something upsetting, to say the least. And she isn't the only one who stumbles across it.

                Okay, Ruby could admit, this was not fine.

She sniffled, staring wide eyed at the disaster hanging from her dorm room.

It was barely clinging to the feeble pieces of tape attaching it to the door. Ruby gingerly peeled it off, rubbing a bit of the dirt away with her thumb, and she took a moment to really take it in.

She couldn’t even identify everything on it. There was clearly mud caked over most of it, the fabric itself was damp throughout, but the bottom looked like it had been burnt off, leaving only a frayed, blackened edge. It smelled rancid, and she had to stop herself from gagging as she got a good whiff of the stench. She looked at the inside of the hood, which was thankfully free of any dirt, but as she looked closer, it was a light pink instead of the usual red. They must have bleached it first before doing anything else to it.

Wonderful. Just fan-freaking-tastic.

With a start, she checked to make sure nobody else was around, before speeding inside the dorm, pulling the ruined cloak with her.

Once she was safely inside, she hung the fabric over the edge of her bed, silently apologizing to Weiss if the smell stayed around after Ruby found out what to do with the cloak. What could she even do to fix this?

                Before that, how did they even get her cloak? She hadn’t moved it from her room ever since she had been banned from wearing it around school. Well, they would have obviously found their way in here somehow. But students weren’t allowed to come back to the dorms during school hours, unless they wanted to be about half an hour late to their class.

Cardin wouldn’t have cared about that though, and neither would his friends.

With a shaky breath, Ruby examined her precious cloak once more. She gritted her teeth in a futile attempt to keep back the tears that leaked out of her eyes and streamed down her face.

She climbed up into her bed, pulling her knees into her chest as she sat on her pillows.

Her top half of her cloak sat next to her, a reminder of what she had put up with the past couple weeks. Burying her head further down, a muffled sob sneaked out, followed by another, and then another, until it all came pouring out.

Ruby didn’t know how long she sat there, it felt like hours but it was probably only a few minutes, until she heard the door creak open.

She shot up, scrubbing the tears off her cheeks as she rushed to hide the cloak.

“Ruby?” Weiss asked, making Ruby jump.

Ruby kept her back to Weiss, scrunching up the cloak in her hands as she turned her head to give Weiss a smile.

“What are you holding?” Weiss tried to peer around Ruby, but Ruby twisted to keep her hands out of Weiss’ sight. 

Ruby only shook her head in response, edging away from Weiss as she looked for a good place to stuff the cloak under without Weiss noticing.

“Ruby I’m serious.” Weiss warned, the ground underneath her lighting up as she summoned on of her glyphs.

Ruby narrowed her eyes, hoping Weiss would get the message and just stay out of this.

Weiss shot forward, her glyph boosting her speed as she shot past Ruby so she could finally see what the younger girl was hiding.

“Is this your cloak?” Weiss asked incredulously, staring at Ruby in shock as the young girl wilted under her gaze.

Ruby shook her head in tentative denial. Shrinking down even more as Weiss’ glare turned sharp and irritated.

“Really Ruby? It certainly looks a lot like your cape, except I don’t even want to know how you managed to get it in this condition.” Weiss snapped back, crossing her arms.

Ruby shrugged, dropping her eyes to the ground, praying that Weiss would drop it here.

Weiss sighed, and Ruby hoped this meant her prayers would be answered.

“You didn’t do this, did you.” And there went Ruby’s hopes, dashed into the ground as Weiss softened her stance.

“Was it Cardin’s gang?” The question was clipped, and Ruby looked up to see Weiss tighten up again, her eyes narrowed.

Ruby shook her head, pulling her cloak in closer as she hunched her shoulders.

“Fine.” Weiss walked away from her. “I’ll just ask Yang then. Since you don’t want to give me any straight answers.”

Ruby barreled her way in front of Wiess, putting herself between Weiss and the door as she vigorously shook her head in protest.

“You don’t want me to tell Yang?”

Ruby nodded, her body shaking with the motion.

“You-” Weiss started, raising herself up for a rebuke, only to then sigh in defeat. “Fine. I won’t tell her."

Ruby gave a breath of relief, hoping her smile clearly conveyed her gratitude.

“But, if something like this happens again, you have to promise to take it straight to Professor Ozpin or Goodwitch.”

Ruby slumped, giving a quiet grumble in protest.

“Promise? Or else I go and tell Yang everything I know right now.” Weiss stared down at Ruby, her expression uncompromising.

Ruby nodded slowly in agreement, frowning in displeasure.

“Good.” Weiss walked out, but she turned at the last moment to add on, “I have some stuff under my bed that should clean it up completely. But you’ll have to find a way to get it past Yang on your own.”

Ruby nodded, giving Weiss another thankful smile as the older girl left.

Now all she had to do was try and get her cloak back to normal and she’d be okay.


	14. Self-achieved Justice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the late release, a whole ton of stuff came up recently. I won't go I to to much detail, but it involves an injured dog that I'm helping to,look after. Anyways, this concludes the miniature arc I started, apparently I forgot the definition of a drabble series, but who cares, I don't. Enjoy!

          Blake threw gambol shroud, its hook embedding itself in the tree in front of her. Taking the other edge of the ribbon she tied it around the other tree that she was standing by. Tying it into the most secure knot she knew, she nodded at her handiwork. She texted Weiss, telling Weiss that she had done her part, and would wait up in the trees.

          She quickly scaled the tree, setting her shadow down to lean against the tree, a perfect distraction for her targets.

* * *

 

          "You're sure you'll be able to do it?"

          "Of course I am silly! I'll even try to break their legs beforehand!" Nora answered Weiss' question with a chirp, her fingers dancing on the edge of her weapon.

          "Don't." Ren warned her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

          "Aww, why not? They deserve it!" Nora pouted, shoulders slumping as she grumbled, her lips puckered in annoyance.

          "Don't be an idiot, it would ruin the plan." Weiss explained as well, checking her scroll nodding as she read Blake's message of confirmation.

          "Hey!" Nora fumed, giving Weiss the stink eye.

          "What she means is, she doesn't want anything to go wrong, so be careful please." Pyrrha interrupted with a calm smile.

          "Speak for yourself." Weiss muttered sullenly, aiming a sharp glare at Nora. "I'm only doing this because I'm obligated to."

          Nora raised herself up to retort, her eyes blazing, but was stopped by Jaune's entrance onto the scene.

          "Why are you guys-ugh-so hard to find?" Jaune was heaving for air. "You said the back of the school. I didn't think you meant hidden behind the biggest bush I've ever seen!"

          "Sorry Jaune, but at least you found us in time." Pyrrha consoled him quickly before turning her attention back to Weiss. "So, what is our role in this?"

          "You have good control of your aura right?" Weiss asked. "You could put up a barrier around other objects and keep it sustained without too much effort?"

          "Yes, although it'll take some time." Pyrrha admitted, although she still gazed at Weiss questioningly. "What about Jaune?"

          "You'll make perfect bait. They already hate your face sNJo they should follow you easily enough." Weiss replied, not missing a beat as Jaune's jaw dropped to the floor.

         "Oh come on! Why do I have to be bait!" Jaune exclaimed, looking outraged. "Why not Ren? No offense, but he's much faster than I am, wouldn't he be better for the job?"

         "Ren is going to stay with Nora and keep Blake's ribbon invisible, or at least undetectable." Weiss explained, turning back to Ren. "You can do that, right?"

          Ren nodded in agreement, Nora giving an extra bounce or two in excitement.

          "But-"

          "You remember who this is for, right? Now are you going to do your job or not?"

          "Fine." Jaune sighed, although he still muttered syllables of discontent under his breath. Not like Weiss cared.

          "Pyrrha, could you cover these ropes in aura." Weiss ordered, pointing to four ropes sitting behind her, all tied into loops on the ends. "Ren and Nora, go by Blake and make sure that the ribbon and Nora can't be seen. Nora, make sure you're charged up when Jaune gets there, you'll only get one shot. Jaune, go get CRDL and bring them to the two trees there, where Blake's standing."

          Unsurprisingly, everyone went off to their respective tasks without complaint, even Jaune.

          Pyrrha set to work, and while she was in the middle of covering the second rope asked, "Doesn't this seem a little complicated? You could just go to Ozpin."

          "I promised her I wouldn't, unfortunately. The dolt doesn't want anyone to know. Like she'd be able to stop this on her own." Weiss snorted, crossing her arms and glaring at the leaves in front of her.

          "But still…" Pyrrha kept going, determined not to let the subject drop easily. "You could have easily just ignored it. Why didn't you."

          "I already said, I'm obligated to." Weiss shot back, walking away from her. "I have to make sure I'm in position. Bring me the ropes when you're done with them."

          Pyrrha hummed in acknowledgement, focusing all of her attention on the task at hand.

          Jaune didn't take long, running in a tangle of limbs towards the trees, team CRDL hot on his heels, a collective smirk their faces.

          "I didn't think it would be like this!" Jaune wailed as he ran, shooting past the bush where Weiss crouched, Myrtenaster drawn. As CRDL followed, she slammed the tip of her rapier into the ground, summoning glyphs underneath the bullies feet, encasing their feet in ice that sprouted from the ground below.

          Nora seemingly appeared out of nowhere, racing towards the boys as both her and the ribbon ahead became clearly visible as Ren stepped out of the shadows to run to Weiss.

          Nora grinned, electricity sparking at her fingertips and running down the length of her unfurled hammer as she swung. The first strike took out half of the boys, the second strike took out the rest. She sent them flying straight towards the awaiting ribbon, which proceeded to catch them midair, stopping their flights abruptly and sending them straight to the ground, bleary and only half-conscious.

          "Now!" Weiss shouted, taking one of the ropes, Pyhrra, Nora, and Ren each grabbing another for themselves.

          Running to Cardin's side, Weiss smirked down at him as she put his foot through the rope and tugged it tight. The others did the same with their respective members, moving as quickly as they could before the boys' senses returned to them.

          They passed the ropes along to Blake, one at a time, and she tied the other edges on one of the sturdier branches.

          After her job was done, Blake jumped down to join the rest of her triumphant team as they admired their handiwork.

          The boys were strung up in the tree, like meat hung up to dry, only able to mutter undiscernible words of outrage and confusion.

          "What do we do now?" Jaune asked, still panting slightly.

          "Nothing." Weiss said simply. "Just wait for Yang to show up."

          "Won't it be bad if they know who did this to them?" Blake pointed out, although she was smiling herself as she looked at them.

          "Yang said she has ways to make them keep quiet." Wiess said, turning to RNJR. "You can leave if you want."

          "We'll stay." Pyhrra spoke for her team, getting nods of agreement from the other three members. "I think we're all interested in what Yang has in mind."        

* * *

          Yang was quick to show, storming down in a blur of flames and fury. By then team CRDL was fully awake and panicking, trying in vain the break the aura enforced ropes with their weapons.

          "Hello boys," Yang said, her voice eerily chipper as she waved at the boys. It soon turned chilling as she continued. "I think we need to have a little chat."

          Weiss swore that the entire team was trying to compress themselves as much as possible, shrinking away from the crimson eyed ball of thinly veiled rage looming before them.

          "So, do you guys know a girl with a red cloak?" Yang cracked her knuckles, making the boys all flinch. "Kinda stands out from the crowd, doesn't really feel like talking to anybody, you know, just _my sister_."

          The boys didn't even attempt to answer, shaking as hard as they were. Yang's grin grew, holding nothing but malice and anticipation.

          "Now, let's get down to the real business."

* * *

 

          When the rumors started circulating about what happened to CRDL, and the state they were found in, Weiss simply ignored the gossip, only smiling to herself only when no one was around to see it.

          When Ruby came to find her the day after, looking like Weiss had just thrown her to a pack of grimm, all Weiss said was that she had upheld her side of the bargain, and hadn't told Yang of what happened. Which was true, but she didn't tell Ruby that she told just about everyone close to the girl besides Yang, then let them spread the message along.

          When Ruby got permission to wear her cape to classes again, (Weiss suspected Yang had also been involved in that rearrangement) Weiss simply bid her congratulations in the driest tone she could muster. Although it was much more comforting to see the familiar cloak back on Ruby's shoulders, albeit a little paler from its abuse. The bottom of the cloak had been sewn back to normalcy with Blake's help, seeing as nobody else on the team had even the faintest clue on how to sew.

          And when Pyhrra wouldn't stop pestering her to find out why she had planned the whole thing out like that, Weiss finally gave in and told her about the promise she had made to Ruby their second night as partners. Weiss didn't understand why Pyhrra looked so shock at the fact, nor why her smile became gentler as she said that now she understood where Weiss was coming from.

          All she had done was walk into a problem that definitely would have screwed their team over in the future, remembered her promise to be the best teammate Ruby could ask for, and acted accordingly. It wasn't anything that remarkable.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still completely open to future chapter ideas if anyone just feels like putting them out there.


	15. Of Ice and Cats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On a trip to a small village, team RWBY runs into something unexpected.

                Blake trailed behind the other members of her team, taking in the quiet village they had just entered. They had gone in hopes of having a peaceful day off from school, away from the crowded streets that surrounded Beacon. 

                Blake admitted the town was nice. Yang had chosen the location, saying that some friends had told her about the place.

                Knowing just exactly who Yang closest “friends” were, at least outside of school, she had been more than doubtful about the truthfulness of that statement.

                The air was silent, the noises of machinery replaced by the quiet buzz of people and nature around them. Only a few people milled about, chatting amicably amongst themselves in little groups.

                Looking back at her teammates, she smiled at Yang and Ruby’s obvious enthusiasm simply from being here, and scowled when she saw Weiss grimacing. Weiss would be the only that couldn’t see the beauty in a mundane scene like this. Comes with the territory of being a spoiled rich girl for all her life.

                Whatever. Blake had better things she could be focusing on. Like-

                “Hey guys, look!” Yang called out, pointing to something in the distance. “It’s a cat!”

                “Unlikely.” Weiss replied immediately. “Cats are pretty rare, really only wealthy families have them now.”

                Ruby sped ahead, leaving her teammates to try and not choke on the rose petals she sent swirling around them.

                “Wait a sec Ruby!” Yang tied to call her back in vain, sighing lightly as Ruby waved to them excitedly, gesturing wildly at the ground in front of her.

                “So, are we going after her or…?” Blake asked, walking up to stand next to Yang.

                “Might as well.” Yang smirked, jogging towards Ruby.

                Blake hummed and followed, not bothering to see if Weiss came with them or not.

                As they got nearer, Blake was able to discern what Ruby was frantically pointing at. It was indeed, a cat. It was had gray fur, streaked with delicate black stripes that encased its entire body besides for the legs and muzzle.

                As they finally caught up to Ruby, Yang bent down and extended a hand towards the feline greeting it with, “Hey there little guy.”

                The cat promptly ignored Yang’s outstretched hand, marching straight past her and right to…Blake’s foot. With a purr, it rubbed its cheek against her leg, sitting back up to stare at her expectantly. 

                 Blake reached down to scratch it behind the ears, smiling when it leaned into her touch and purred even louder than before.

                  Blake felt a rumble grow in her chest, her eyes widening as she coughed violently to get rid of it. 

                  "Something got in my throat." Blake answered Ruby and Yang's question before they could ask it. "I'm fine." 

                   What she didn't tell them was that she had almost instinctively reciprocated the cat's purr with one of her own. Stupid faunus cat traits. She swore if she was ever found out, it would be because of them. 

                    Her ears were threatening to expose her too, trying to lean themselves closer to the cat against her wishes. Instead of continuing to fight the internal battle,  she simply picked the cat up from under its arms and held it up near her face, where her ears could lean towards it all they wanted an It wouldn't look suspicious. 

                     The cat gave a questioning "Mrrow" before relaxing once more in her arms. 

                     "I didn't know you were such a cat person." Yang's casual remark nearly made Blake jump out of her skin, and the cat with it. Thankfully she didn't end up dropping it, but her thoughts were still in such shambles that all she could do was shrug in response.

                     Ruby stared at the two of them, stars in her eyes as her grin widened. 

                     Blake hoped that the cat would change its mind and just hiss at her or something. Anything to get the spotlight off her. 

                     "There really was a cat, huh." Weiss provided the much needed distraction that Blake needed, turning the sister's attention away from the cat. She quickly set it down, still praying that it would just leave her alone now. 

                     Sadly, the cat didn't seem to have the same goals, as it simply layed itself across her feet, again rubbing it's head against her ankle.

                      Ruby was making excited hand gestures at Weiss,seemingly a mix of sign language and the game of charades rolled into one, pointing to Blake and the cat repeatedly.

                      Blake watched as Weiss slid her gaze over to the cat, and was startled when she thought she saw something eerily similar to long flicker in the girl's eyes.

                      It left as quickly as it came though, Weiss turning  back to Ruby and Yang as the three struck up a loose conversation. 

                      Blake kept her focus on where Weiss' gaze went, counting the increasing number of side glances Weiss sent towards the feline draped across her feet.

                      "Here." Blake held out the cat to Weiss, whose face only twisted in confusion at the sight.

                      "What?"

                      "If you want to pet it, here." Blake pushed the cat towards her more, causing Weiss to lean back for a moment. Before realizing her position and straightening herself back up.

                      For an instant, Blake thought she had assumed wrong by the flabbergasted stare Weiss was giving her, until Weiss muttered back.

                      "Might as well." Weiss reached out a tentative hand towards the cats nose, stopping to let it sniff her hand. When it rubbed it cheek against her hand she started, snapping her hand back by her side. 

                      Determined to get the cat to focus on someone else, Blake lowered it the ground and unceremoniously shoved it over to Weiss.

                      Surprisingly, it stayed by Weiss, choosing to sit at her feet and stare up at her. With a slow hand, Weiss reached down and gently pat it behind the ears. She nearly started again when it returned the contact, but kept her hand where it was as her unsure pats became confident scratches. 

                      Blake nearly smiled at the sight, Weiss' eyes filled with an almost childlike delight, lips parted in a tiny "o." Ruby and Yang soon joined her, the cat accepting the extra attention gratefully. 

                       Who would have thought? A Schnee genuinely enjoying something like this, something that should have been easy for her to have her entire life. It made a faunus wonder.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I've mentioned this before specifically, but thank all of you so much for the feedback! I may not answer your comments most of the time (mostly cause I never know what to say) but they honestly give me an extra inspiration boost to keep on writing. Just, thank you, a lot.


	16. Speculations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is really short, and a day late, but I really wanted to try a different angle, which led to this for some reason. Enjoy!

Cinder could never identify it. What about the girl that irked her to such a degree. She was just some kid. Some naive, inexperienced, clueless huntress wannabe. The rest of her teammates didn’t bother her, at least not to this extent. They were annoying, but only as annoying as a couple of gnats buzzing around one’s face were. Compared to them however, Ruby might as well be a swarm of cockroaches.

                Then what kept bringing the girl to the forefront of her mind?

Sure, the girl had some clear talent, but not even enough experience to keep up with Emerald. She would be no big issue to their plans, if she even presented a problem at all. Cinder didn’t expect to many problems though. If she could get past Ironwood’s security with ease, getting past a few teenagers wouldn’t be anything at all.

That didn’t stop her from avoiding the girl at all costs. Only giving her sharp stares from a distance. Analyzing. Calculating just what it was that set off all her nerves whenever the girl entered her line of sight.

Maybe it was the eyes. The silver color alone was enough to set Cinder off, even if it was clear that the girl had no affinity for them. Salem’s teachings ran deep though, and Cinder knew she couldn’t disregard it completely just because the powers were still blocked.

Maybe it was her heritage. Rose was not a name spoken willingly in Salem’s realm, not if one wanted to keep themselves alive. Roses were known for being unassuming. Overlooked for their soft and meek appearance. Only to lash out with thorns sharper and deadlier than ever expected.

Maybe it was the fighting style. Eerily similar to that bastard Qrow’s. Not a good combination of traits.

Still, she had a plan to focus on. The kingdoms wouldn’t bring down themselves after all.

She was just being paranoid. Letting something insignificant pester the back of her mind. The plan would be started soon enough. And then she’ll see just how dumb her suspicions are.


	17. Fever Bonds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The one sickfic chapter you knew was coming.

               God, Weiss had forgotten how much she hated being sick. Well, it was a fact that promptly smacked her in the face the moment she opened her eyes that morning.

                She woke up in a cold sweat for one, with chills racing down her back. She had to catch herself against the bedframe as she stood, her legs unusually shaky. She could feel the beginnings of a sinus headache coming on, and she groaned at the implications.

                Of course, Ruby popped up beside her at the sound, already giving Weiss a concerned look.

                Before Ruby could pull out her scroll and ask, Weiss spoke, her voice coming out as more of a croak then anything.

                “I’m fine Ruby. Just tired.”

                Ruby frowned at that, looking her over even more closely than before.

                “I told you I’m fine.” Weiss growled, pushing past the younger girl as she made her way to the bathroom, hoping she didn’t sound as weak to Ruby as she did to herself.

                In the bathroom, she did a quick sweep to see if they had any cold medicine. They did not. Dammit, she was going give Yang a hell of a lecture about that later. Yang was their designated supply fetcher, and Weiss was pretty damn sure medicine had been on the list.

                With another groan, she began to legitimately consider just skipping classes today. But she had an essay due for Doctor Oobleck, and Professor Peach said that today’s lecture would be essential for the next test. She would have to suck it up for now.

                Ugh, she just hoped her sickness didn’t end up causing any unnecessary issues. She actually felt that they had been making progress as a team lately, but she became, unhinged, so to say, when she was sick. Not that she often remembered it afterwards.

                Winter had once described it as watching a snappier, discombobulated, but more open version of Weiss. And that was something that Blake, Yang, and Ruby did not need to bear witness to. All she had to do was keep it together until the day was over, and then she’d be clear. She could do this.

                To give Weiss some credit, at least she made it to second period before being found out. She had survived Doctor Oobleck’s class, albeit with a pounding headache and the desire to just wrap herself in a tiny cocoon and hide away from the world. She hadn’t had to talk much though, as long as she looked alert.

                She felt herself slipping into a sick induced haze as they moved onto Professor Port’s class, much to her disappointment. As the class continued, Weiss couldn’t stop her head from dropping lower and lower. Sleep was offering sweet release from her stuffed nose and chill wracked body, an offer which eventually won out over her common sense.

                She was awoken by a light hand shaking her shoulder, causing her to spring up with a start. Glaring around blearily, she searched for whoever had pulled her out of sleep’s warm embrace, and once again found herself facing Ruby, with Yang and Blake standing behind her.

                “I’m fine.” Weiss found herself mumbling instinctively, pushing herself to her feet. The world spun around her for a second, and she had to stop herself from falling onto the desk. She was even more out of it than she thought.

                She faintly felt a hand push against her forehead, and she had to wonder when her face had gotten so hot. She even started to lean into the comfortingly cool touch, before coming to her senses and drawing away.

                She blinked her eyes open, her teammates slowly coming into focus. Ruby was signing to Yang, who appeared to be translating to Blake. She couldn’t really tell, but she had to assume they were talking about her, from the way Ruby kept pointing at her.

                Yang walked up to her, clearly talking to her, but Weiss could only hear snippets above the pounding in her head.

                “You…forget class…sleep…the room.”

                Yang wanted her to go back to the dorm for some sleep. She couldn’t though, not with Professor Peach’s lecture coming up. She must have said something along those lines, as the rest of her team vigorously shook their head in denial.

                “You…need…come…with us.” Blake spoke this time, and Weiss could already hear herself denying the option again. It didn’t appear to help though, as Yang was already packing up her bag for her.

                Weiss stared blankly as she saw Ruby’s hand wrap around her wrist, gently tugging her forwards and out of the classroom.

                Weiss found that she didn’t have enough left in her to resist, and she stuck to muttering angrily under her breath the entire trip back.

                When they finally reached her bead, Weiss pratically fell into her bed after Ruby softly pushed her onto it. That’s funny, she didn’t notice that she had been leaning on Ruby until her side suddenly chilled from the lack of warmth. 

                Soon she was swaddled in blankets, with an ice pack resting on her forehead and a glass of water within arms reach. She noticed that Ruby was still standing beside her, and she opened her mouth to tell Ruby to go back to class, but her vision swam, and she loosely felt her hand drop down as she fell back into sleep's clutches.

                 She was having fever dreams, that much was clear to her addled mind. What wasn't clear were the figures that moved in the corners of her eyes whenever she opened them. She could hear herself muttering whatever thoughts appeared in her mind. A blessed state of dreamlessness was out of her reach, so, she fitfully tossed and turned through most of it.

                 When she finally awoke with a clear head, the first thing she noticed was Ruby, snoring lightly against Weiss' mattress. The second thing was the overwhelming amount of food waiting for her. 

                 She shook Ruby awake, asking the younger girl, "Ruby? What is this?"

                 Ruby seemed to be surprised at the question, before hastily pulling out her scroll to type her answer.

_"You asked for it, remember?"_

                 Weiss prepared herself to snap back at such an obvious joke, but paused when she saw that Ruby looked completely serious, slightly puzzled, but completely serious. Weiss stared at the food covered nightstand beside her bed, utterly baffled. Everything imaginable was stuffed onto it, from cinnamon rolls to... blueberry yogurt?

                 Weiss groaned, this was why she abhorred any sort of illness. She was always left picking up the pieces that her sick brain inevitably left behind. 

                 Weiss looked over to Ruby again, who had stood up to stretch, leaving her scroll behind with another message.

                _"I'm sorry if you don't like it. I thought you might enjoy it since you asked for it."_

                 Weiss sighed, "Ruby, do you know how annoying it is reading the same two words over an over everyday? Stop apologizing when there's nothing to apologize for, it's annoying! I just..." Another sigh escapes her lips, "But thank you, for putting up with my illness."

                 Ruby simply gave a soft smile in return, shrugging slightly to show that it hadn't bothered her at all.

 


	18. A Test Well Done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Team Ruby faces Glynda's end of quarter assessment.

Ruby winced as she watched another unfortunate team get thrown back like scraps of paper beneath Professor Glynda’s riding crop. Her semblance decimating the teams before they even got a chance to try and attack her.

                “What kind of end of quarter test is this?” Ruby heard one boy ask, one who was still nursing a heavily bruised arm from when he had been thrown back.

                Ruby would feel inclined to agree with him, that was, if she wasn’t bouncing in her shoes with excitement. They were getting a chance to show off their skills against a real huntress, how often does that happen? And it wasn’t like the mission was to actually beat her, they just had to land one blow on her.

                Also, she felt that they could do this. Not to be cocky, but this had to be the perfect challenge for her team. It was a test to see how well the teams could work together, without verbal communication. Glynda herself was blindfolded to give the teams some help, but Ruby suspected that she used the dead silence in the arena to pick out where the students were attacking from.

                Weiss and Blake already had the basics of combat commands in sign language, something that Ruby planned to use to her full advantage.

                “Team RWBY, get ready.” Glynda called out as the previous fighters were sent back.

                _“Ready?”_ Ruby turned to her teammates, signing them a quick message.

                All three nodded in confirmation, and Ruby returned the grin that Yang shot her.

                Once they had entered the arena, Ruby signaled for each to take a position on a side.

                “Begin when you’re ready.” Glynda instructed, readying her stance.

                Making sure all eyes were on her, Ruby quickly signed, _“Here is the plan.”_

                Ruby pointed to Wiess. _“First surround in ice.”_ Then to Blake. _“Attack from above.”_ And last to Yang. _“Attack through the ice, try to be faster than Blake.”_

 _“Ready? Go.”_ Ruby gave the command, darting forward as her team sprang into action. She circled around, waiting for the perfect opening as her plan was set into motion.

                Blake was sent flying as expected, but used her semblance to land on her feet. Ruby slowed down to hastily sign. _“Keep going.”_  

                Yang was sent flying through the ice soon afterwards, but she was soon on her feet and giving Ruby a thumbs up. A hit. They were passing by this point, but might as well go further, right?

                With a quick motion to Weiss, Ruby darted forwards. Slipping through the small opening Weiss created for her.

                Once inside, Ruby could see that Glynda was mostly focusing on destroying the ice, but couldn’t stop the new crystals from popping up after she leveled them.

                Blake dropped in from the sky, lashing out with gambol shroud in an attempt to lasso Glynda. Ruby propelled herself forwards, catching Glynda in the curve of her scythe as she moved to avoid Blake.

                “Stop the fight!” Glynda ordered, taking off her blindfold to look at mess of ice shards that now decorated the floor. Sighing, she looked back to the team, who were now gathered and awaiting her report.

                “Excellent work. Although your strategy itself could use some work. You had the right idea, but your execution was lacking. Overall though, you are the highest scoring team for the day with two successful hits.”

                Ruby smiled as Yang let out a small cheer, Weiss simply hummed while Blake remained impassive.

                _“We did it!”_ Ruby gave a little jump as they walked back, squirming when Yang reached down to ruffle her hair.

                “Of course we did, silly.” Yang teased. “What else did you expect?”


	19. A Few New Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruby stumbles into a strange boy in the hallways, and ends up making more friends than she would have thought.

__

                Honestly, Ruby didn’t know how she got into these situations. What did the universe have against her and meeting people normally? Would it really be that bad to not have her meet someone by crashing into them?

                She offered her tablet out to the poor boy she had knocked down as she had turned a corner in the hallways. An apology she wished she wasn’t so used to giving out.

                The only issue? The boy wouldn’t take it. His eyes were completely white, shining bright against his dark skin and red hair, but they didn't leave her face.

                Ruby moved the tablet from side to side, brows furrowing as the action failed to elicit any sort of reaction.

                “Hey Fox!” The shout startled the both of them, although Fox only turned his head with a smile, while Ruby jumped straight up.

                It was a girl, a small frown on her face as she marched up to Fox. A burea adorned her head, with shades covering her eyes. Her handbag jostled a bit when she stood next to Fox, a hand on her hip as she examined Ruby.

                Ruby could see two others trailing behind the girl, one rabbit faunus and bay that could only be described as a giant.

                “What happened?” The girl with the shades snapped.

                Fox only smiled at the girl’s harsh tone, softly saying “Nothing Coco. We just accidentally ran into each other.”               

                “Did you apologize?” Coco rounded on Ruby, who held out the scroll willingly, although now with a different message.

_“I’m sorry for running into Fox. I’m not trying to be rude, but I can’t talk to people.”_

                “Oh” Coco smiled softly as she read, handing the scroll back to her other two companions, who both shared a sympathetic glance.

                The rabbit faunus stepped forward to hand Ruby back her scroll saying, “Sorry about that. We saw you standing by Fox and Coco assumed the worst. Although I’m glad we came over, you two might have been stuck here for a while.”

                “Fox can’t see,” Coco said before Ruby could type the question. “and you can’t talk, so you guys would have been stuck.”

                Well, that explained why he didn’t react to her scroll, but Ruby couldn’t imagine what it took to be able to fight like that.

  _“That’s incredible.”_ Ruby made her thoughts known, returning the bright smile the rest of his teammates gave her.

                “Hear that Fox?” Coco nudged her hip against Fox’s. “She just said you were incredible.” 

                “Thank you.” Fox looked surprised, his quiet voice sounding utterly shocked.

                “How do you interact with your teammates then?” The rabbit faunus asked, one ear flopping down as she peered at Ruby. “When you’re fighting?”              

                _“Me and Yang know sign language, and Blake and Weiss are learning it for missions.”_

                “So, you guys could totally sneak up on someone without even talking.” Coco smirked. “Now that is something I’d like to see.”

                Ruby gave a sheepish smile, one that quickly faded when she realized that she needed to get to her next class.

  _“I gotta head to my next class. It was nice talking to you.”_

                Coco stuck out her hand, and Ruby took it up with a smile. “Coco, leader of team CFVY. Mind if I get your number? I definitely want to talk to you later."

                Ruby nodded readily, handing her scroll over to Coco so she could type her number into it. Coco handed it back quickly, asking "What's your name?"

                 _"Ruby, leader of team RWBY."_

                "Nice." Coco grinned as she turned away, waving. "See ya later Ruby."

                "I'm Velvet," The rabbit faunus introduced herself, and then pointed to her giant partner. "and this is Yatsuhashi. It was nice meeting you."

                 Fox was the last to leave, following behind Yatsuhashi after giving Ruby a wave of his own. 

                 As she sped away to class, Ruby couldn't keep the smile off her face. She had just made four friends. Four! In less than three minutes. If this is what stumbling into people brought her, she needed to start doing it a lot more often.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes! I finally get to write in team CFVY! I'm so excited, even though writing them is challenging, I still love them! And you can be sure as hell that they will appear again.


	20. Mutt Troubles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blake has some troubles with the addition to team RWBY.

                Blake peered over the edge of the top bed, her ears shooting back at the eager whine that greeted her.

It was still there, that beast. Its stumpy tail wagged menacingly as it glared up at where she hid, its tongue lolling out of its mouth and drool dripping from his lips. Its ears were pointed to her, its black and white pattern letting it stand out.

With a low hiss that she didn’t even try to conceal, she began to think up a way to get past the dreaded monster. She had learned by now not to underestimate its speed. Its paws may be small but its compact body could move faster than one would believe. Too fast to make running past it and option.

She threw a pillow at it, to no effect. The demon only ducked its head and shook the pillow off promptly, returning to its vigil beside her bed.

With another growl, she threw the blankets down on it, preparing herself to run as soon as the beast became trapped in them. To her dismay, the monster bolted out of the blanket’s way, coming back to sit on them, its wide eyes still staring at her.

A resigned sigh escaped her, as her mind focused on what seemed to be her only option. She really didn’t want to waste aura on something as tiny as this, but she had no choice. That thing was not getting near her no matter how much it wanted to.

Her eyes stayed peeled on the beast below her as she manifested one of her shadow clones, sending it as far away from the door as possible.

As expected, the little monster ran towards the clone, leaving Blake free to escape. She darted out of the room before the demon could follow her, not stopping until she was well away from the dorm room.

Looking back to check one final time, a smug smile overtook her as she strolled along, finally free to do what she desperately wanted to. Read a book in peace and quiet, nothing around to disturb her.

Just as she found a secluded bench to settle onto, an excited yip sent her jumping.

There it was again, the beast was barreling towards her at full speed, its dreaded tongue still hanging out of its mouth in anticipation.

Following her instincts, she dashed to the first hiding place she could find, a hiding place that may or may not have been a tree.

Clutching to a branch she glared back at the beast, who now sat at the base of the tree, staring up hopefully at her.

She gave it another hiss, her ears pinned back to reflect her sour mood.

Blake despised dogs. Especially the little terror that her teammates loved. They were to affectionate and got in her face far too often for her liking. They were loud and clumsy. And they just had to impose themselves on anyone they met. Truly despicable creatures.

And now she was trapped, again, the terror responsible for it looking as innocent as a snake beneath her.

Her day just kept getting better, didn’t it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved the tiny scene of Blake and Zwei in volume 2, because of course Blake doesn't like dogs. But i'd like to think she'd be at least tolerable towards dog Faunus, until they get to close to her personal space, then they're goners.


	21. Allies in Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A long anticipated meeting.

                Ruby struggled against the ropes binding her wrists together behind her back, slumping when they proved to be immovable.

                She looked up at the train car roof that sat above her. She was surrounded by crates stacked with explosives, courtesy of Roman. She still couldn’t believe her luck, she knew they chose this mission specifically because they wanted to investigate the White Fang indiscreetly, but trust her to fall right into their clutches, and without her scythe no less.

                Now she was stuck here, awaiting the eventual orders to start the train or hopefully her rescue.

                The train doors slid open, and Ruby jumped to her feet, albeit not as gracefully as she would have liked, given the rope.

                It was a girl, the same one that had thrown her in here after she had proven useless for gathering information. For once she was actually glad she couldn’t talk, you can just play dumb for interrogations.

                But the girl had her umbrella out, a dangerous glint coming from the top. Roman had called her Neo.

                Ruby couldn’t help the snort that came with the thought. All she saw was the uncanny resemblance Neo held to Neapolitan ice cream, which only raised the question, was she born like that or did she change her looks to fit her name?

                Neo had the tip of her umbrella pointed at Ruby in an instant, Ruby’s small smile quickly vanishing with Neo’s silent threat.

                _“Come on Red. Talk.”_ Ruby’s eyes widened as she saw Neo sign, her gaze switched from Neo’s hands to her mouth. Was Neo like her?

                With a sour roll of her eyes, Neo reached a hand into her pocket, presumeably to pull out a scroll. Ruby shook her head violently and surged forward, mindful of the bladed umbrella. The action startled Neo enough to jerk her hand out of her pocket to grab Ruby by the base of the neck and twirl her onto the floor.

                Ruby was back on her feet in an instant, smiling at Neo’s wary gaze. Ruby wiggled her hands around, hoping Neo would get the message.

                Neo stared at her incredulously for a moment, then opened her mouth in a sort of noiseless scoff.

                But still, after a calculated look, Neo slowly started to sign again.

                _“Do you talk?”_

                Ruby shook her head, then nodded towards Neo in an attempt to return the question.

                Neo shook her head as well, now looking at Ruby with a sort of subdued wonder.             

                Ruby couldn’t help but return the feeling. Even if it was with an enemy, she had finally found someone who could relate to her. Someone who knew exactly what it was like being silent in the ever-louder world they lived in.

                Ruby took a step forward, freezing when the sealed doors came tumbling inward, their edges encrusted with ice. Fog swept throughout the train car, blurring her vision.

                Neo walked forward, the blade in her umbrella retracted for some reason, strolling calmly towards the gaping hole in the car. Her eyes were cold and lightless, focusing resolutely ahead, ignoring Ruby completely.

                Ruby grinned as Weiss came charging through the haze, sword drawn, shouting “Ruby! We know you’re here somewhere!” 

                Ruby ran forward, darting past Neo as she ran to her teammates. Her feet slipped out from under her as her semblance activated, balance abandoning her as she pitched forward. With no hands to stop her fall, she braced for the sharp pain about to blossom on her face. A frost-latent breeze surrounded her as steady hands helped her back to her feet, then promptly cut through the ropes binding her hands.

                “I got her Yang.” Weiss called back. “Ruby’s fine.”

                “Good.”

                Ruby’s smile grew brighter as her sister emerged from the fog as well, Blake on her heels. Immediately, she was swept up in a hug, all-encompassing and warm. Followed by the rushed whisper of “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

                “Guys.” Blake said, jerking her head towards Neo who now stood directly in front of them, a coy smile on her face. “We need to stop the train before it starts moving. The professor is taking care of the White Fang for now, but we don’t know how long it’ll last.”

                At her words, the train car jolted forwards, sending all the girls reeling for a moment. When they were all steadied once more, Ruby felt her scythe being thrust into her hands. She looked up to see Yang glaring at Neo, her eyes already showing streaks of red.

                “I’ll take care of this one. You guys meet up with the prof and keep going.” Yang muttered, sending a few blasts at Neo while the rest of them ran forwards.

                Before she followed Weiss and Blake though, Ruby hurriedly signed.

                _“I hope I can talk to you again.”_

                All Ruby could see was Neo’s eyes widen slightly before she left her behind, racing to join her teammates.


	22. Why Dance?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pyrrha is secretly the ultimate wingwoman.

                Ruby stared down into her punch glass again, giving the red liquid a tiny swirl to distract herself. By the third hour into the school dance she was exhausted. The heels on her feet still felt like she was balancing on a pair of twigs, liable to snap at any moment. The blaring music was starting to make her head pound, and she was antsy without Crescent Rose by her side.

                Yang was still chattering up a storm with whoever she came across. Blake and Sun had found a wall to lean against as they talked amicably. Weiss and Neptune still sat next to each other a bright smile on each of their faces.

                “Ruby, what’s wrong?”

                Ruby turned to see Pyrrha strolling up to her, a concerned frown on her face. With a start, Ruby realized she had been staring daggers into her drink, her eyebrows furrowed and her face twisted into an ugly grimace.

                She forced her face to relax, giving Pyrrha a small shrug in response. She didn’t really feel like pulling out her scroll right now, her mental fatigue was so great. Her eyes flickered over Weiss and Neptune again before turning her full attention back to Pyrrha. 

                “Are you sure? You looked pretty upset.” Pyrrha took a small sip out of her own punch glass, her eyes scanning Ruby with doubt.

                Ruby nodded, leaning down against the table before giving Pyrrha a smile.

                Pyrrha hummed, moving to stand closer to Ruby as the two of them observed the dance floor in silence.

                Ruby glanced back to Weiss, who was now dancing with Neptune. Don’t get her wrong, she really like Neptune, he seemed like a nice person. But she had seen how dejected Weiss had been over his rejection of her initial offer. Something about it still didn’t sit right with her.

                “You know,” Pyrrha said, pulling Ruby out of her thoughts. “you could always ask Weiss to dance.”

                Ruby almost snorted out her drink, her eyes widening at the insinuation of Pyrrha’s statement.

                She turned sharply, franticly waving her hands to try and get the message across that Pyrrha was completely wrong in any way shape or form. When Pyrrha only raised an amused eyebrow, Ruby begrudgingly pulled out her scroll and began to type furiously.

                _“I’m just worried about them. Neptune rejected her the first time, then he just comes up to her now? It seems wrong. I want them to be happy, and Neptune seems really nice, but I’m just worried about it all._

“That’s all?” Pyrrha asked, a small smirk growing on her face.

                Ruby nodded vigorously, tucking her scroll away before burying her face in her punch glass.

                “I’m going to go find Nora and Ren. Want to come with?” Pyrrha offered, tossing her empty glass into the nearby trash can.

                Ruby shook her head, waving Pyrrha away with a thin smile.

                As Pyrrha walked back into the crowd, she called back “You can still ask her to dance you know. It wouldn’t look strange since you’re teammates.”

                Pyrrha disappeared into the crowd before Ruby could even begin to refute the point. Leaving Ruby to stare wide eyed into her glass, before giving a dismissive snort.

                Why would she want to dance with Weiss? Just because they were teammates? That didn’t make sense. Because of Neptune? But why should that matter?  

                Not like it was the first time Pyrrha had been weird about things like this. She still didn’t have a clue why though, and she only managed to confuse herself whenever she tried to figure it out.

                Whatever. It probably didn’t matter anyways.


	23. Subconscious Terrors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It started out simple enough, if only it had stayed that way.

                Yang looked around the living room of their small home, her eyes brim with nostalgia and joy at the welcoming sight. With a relaxed sigh, she strolled forward, her fingertips brushing the edge of a shelf as she walked towards the stairs.

                In the back of her mind, she recognized that her wrists both still had their respective portions of Ember Celica on them, but it wasn’t any odd thing to her; not as important as the fact that she was home for once. Everything was exactly as she remembered, just as warm and welcoming as it had always been.

                The sound of footsteps rang out, pounding down the stairwell straight towards Yang. She turned to see Ruby flashing her a radiant smile.

                “Hey Rubes.” Yang greeted, returning the smile.

                _“I have to go somewhere real fast, I’ll be right back.”_  Ruby breezed by Yang, even without her semblance to aid her, making it to the door before Yang could even respond.

                As Yang moved forward to try and catch Ruby before she was out the door, she noticed the suspicious bulge that stuck out of Ruby’s back, barely concealed by the red cloak.

                “Where’re you going?” Yang asked, her eyes narrowing.

                _“Nowhere important.”_ Ruby signed back, opening the door without a second glance.

                Yang’s eyes widened as she glimpsed the edge of the backpack, the thick, square one that Ruby only reserved for long trips. And it was strapped onto Ruby’s back now.

                “Ruby! Wait!” Yang bolted, slamming the door back open. As she stepped out into the sunshine, she reached a hand forward, hoping to snag a bit of Ruby’s cape before she was gone completely.

                Yang stumbled over the door frame, catching herself with her hands as she scanned the area frantically.

                She didn’t know where she was anymore. She was in a forest, barren tree’s surrounding her, their ashen limbs reaching out to cover the sky in a spider web of decay. Birds flocked the branches, silent as their beady eyes pierced through her. Their raven feathers littered the ground, shedding in a bizarre downpour.

                She pushed herself to her feet, crying out “Ruby! Where are you!?”

                She took a step forwards, and she was suddenly staring up at an all too familiar shack.

                She activated her weapon, spinning slowly as she checked for grimm. She knew what happened the last time she had come here, a sleeping Ruby in tow. She would never forget the soulless eyes of the beowolves as they had stared her down, easy prey for the picking.

                “Ruby!” Yang couldn’t tell if she was screaming yet or not, her unshed tears hitching her voice. “Come back!”

                The forest stayed silent, the same disinterested eyes of bird’s staring down at her.

                “Please.” Yang whispered, falling to her knees as her despairing eyes looked blankly upwards.

                “Why should she?” The chilling snarl snapped Yang out of her trance, and she scrambled away from the black pool that was spreading before her.

                Her horrified gaze could only widen as an enormous paw shot up out of the liquid, its sickle claws sinking into the earth. One paw was followed by another, and Yang jumped to her feet as the head came next. It was a beowolf, although in a proportion Yang would have never thought possible. Its form towered over her, and with a sweep of its newly emerged tail, the shack sitting behind was laid waste to easily.

                “What in…” Yang muttered as she backed away, her trembling hands searching for a purchase.

                The beast shook itself off, then turned to give Yang a twisted smile, with far too many teeth, far too much space for its abnormal maw.

                “Who are you to them?” The beast grinned as it spoke, its voice coming out in a haunting whisper, one that reverberated in the forest surrounding them. It seeped into her ears, worming its way to her mind and her heart as she stood heaving for air.

                “You think your special? That you deserve to have friends, family?” The beast thrusted its head downwards, leveling its smoldering eyes with Yang’s. “You think that they won’t leave you?”

                “They, they wouldn’t do that. They wouldn’t just-” Her rebuttal got caught in the back of her throat, crumbling to bits under the beast’s intense gaze and cruel smirk.

                “Haven’t they?” The beast questioned, its eyes flickering to the forest. “Aren’t you alone?”

                “I’m not alone.” Yang argued weakly, sinking back down to her knees as her eyes swelled up once more.

                “You will be.” The beast opened its jaws, blood pooling over and creeping across the forest floor. With a snap, the jaws encased her, her vision flashing black and red before it all faded to nothing.

                Yang woke with a yelp, her breath coming out in violent bursts. She threw off her covers and leapt from her bed, running over to where Ruby slept. She sighed in relief as she saw Ruby’s peaceful form resting. She ran a hand over Ruby’s forehead, just to make sure she wasn’t imagining it, before marching back to her own bed.

                She only made it halfway, pausing to stare out the window that sat in between the two beds. Leaning onto the small ledge, Yang let out the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.

                It was just a dream. That’s all it was. Just a dream. Yang gave a quick glance to make sure Blake and Weiss were still there as well, another relieved sigh coming forth when she realized they too, were still sleeping calmly.

                She hated the nightmares. The ones that started out innocently, then turned into something much more warped as her subconscious released all her terrors without stopping.

                She was still here. As was her team. As was her family.

                She should be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love writing about dreams don't I? Also, no one can convince me that Yang doesn't have abandonment issues. She lost both her mothers. That poor girl is probably wondering who's next, well, after Blake and Ruby.


	24. Pride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yang comes to a realization.

Everything was burning. Smoke covered the air as the small village burned to the ground. Tendrils of it curled around Yang, quickly whisked away as she dodged left, narrowly missing the Ursa’s claws.

They were called in to help the village when it had been suddenly been swarmed by a wave of grimm. Tensions had been high due to some property dispute, and hordes of Beowolves, Ursa, and Nevermore’s had set upon them.

It was almost funny, ironically, that the whole thing had started with a property issue, and now there were no homes left. If she wasn’t stuck fighting off the grimm, she might have laughed.

Team RWBY and JNPR, along with an assortment of lower grade teams, were helping to clear away the edges of the town, which were mostly scarce, save for a few grimm. The professor’s and more experienced teams had taken the center, which was where all the real action was happening.

The Ursa in front of her was trying its hardest to sway her opinion though, coming in closer than she was comfortable with. But she simply grinned when its jaws missed her, its head and neck perfectly exposed for her brutal, but lighting fast, punch.

She scanned the area, her arms relaxing when she saw that there weren’t any grimm near her. A child’s wail cut through the choked air, and Yang spun, searching for it desperately.

She paused when she saw Ruby though, bent down and wiping the child’s tears, her scythe lying discarded on the ground beside her. Nostalgia flooded her vision, the sight of Ruby and the little girl overrun for a moment by a similar scene. Instead of Ruby being the protector, it was Yang, wiping the same cheeks that now shone with confidence and maturity.

Yang was lost in the sight, her mind, for some reason, choosing now as the ideal time to have a massive epiphany, the realization of just how far Ruby had come.

Gone was the swaddle of blankets and giggles, the shy yet talkative toddler, the grief-stricken tears, the newly silent child, the unsure and distant adolescent, the prodigious but hesitant girl that had skipped two grades and entered Beacon with her. All those were gone, lost to time as they swirled together in a near perfect mixture, a concoction that gave off a light that could rival the sun, and infinitely more precious than the purest gold.

A streak of black and white flashed to her side, the familiar shot of a pistol echoing in Yang’s ears.

“Don’t get distracted.” Yang turned to see her rescuer, who was staring at her with eyebrows raised as the carcass of the Beowolf that had lunged for became nothing more than specks in the wind. Blake’s flat, quiet voice carried over the cacophony of their surroundings. “What were you even staring at anyways?”

Yang stole another glance back to Ruby, who had wrapped the little girl up in her arms before speeding off to safety. With a soft smile, Yang shifted back to an expectant Blake.

“I don’t think I could tell you if I tried.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone caught the massively obvious reference to "Gold" I shoved in here, then good for you. I just couldn't help myself. One thing the show does perfectly every volume is the soundtrack. I literally almost cried when I first heard it.


	25. Indifference

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weiss and Blake stumble across an argument while in town.

Blake felt her eyes narrow as her ears picked up on the two nasally voices of a pair of performers. Blake had seen the posters for them around town, they were part of some traveling circus. Not that she had an interest in that kind of thing. But she did have an interest in the way they were leering over their coworker, who was clearly bird faunus of some kind. Her hair had a feathery look to it, colored teal with violet ends. Her arms had the same feathers lightly coating them, and her eyes had pupils far too wide and irises far too dark to be human.

“What did we tell you about overshadowing us during the show? You’re only the trainee.” One of the human performers snapped. 

“Yeah, who are you to be all high and mighty?” The other one followed it up with a sneer. 

“But I didn’t do anything!” The faunus girl snapped back, her feathers bristling. 

Blake felt her hands clench into fists as she watched the exchange, her bow flattening with her ears. 

“So, when are you going to intervene?” Weiss’ question was a statement more than anything, but her flat tone only served to anger Blake further. 

“I don’t know, maybe when I feel like actually being a good person.” Blake snarled back, the guilt over her words vanishing when Weiss didn’t even flinch. 

Blake sighed and turned back to look at the argument, which now had the two human performers glaring dangerously at the faunus trainee.

“We’ve worked hard to be here, what have you done?” One of the girls leaned in, causing the faunus to lean away in discomfort. 

“Probably had to cheat her way in here. Since she doesn’t have any other talent besides for being flashy.” The other one hissed, the two of them cackling as the faunus shrunk down, her lips trembling. 

Blake felt her side grow cold, ice clinging to her clothes, and she turned to see Weiss storming forward, a look of fury in her eyes that Blake had never seen. 

Blake trailed behind her, curious to see just what had enraged Weiss so much. 

“If you two wouldn’t mind, I’d like to say something.” Weiss’ tone even made Blake pause, her harsh clip leaving no room for objection. 

Moving herself between the faunus and other performers, Weiss glowered at them. “If you two had any real skill you wouldn’t be wasting your time with this. Get over yourselves already. If you really want to be better than her, start actually working for it.” 

“We-!” One girl tried to interrupt, clearly outraged. 

“What? What exactly have you done? Complain? Blame her for being better than you are? So what? You know how much natural talent matters?” Weiss raged on, not stopping for a second in her tirade, an accusing finger pointed at the two girls. “It. Means. Shit. Natural talent doesn’t give you anything. So, if you’re really upset at being outperformed, then get off your asses and actually make yourselves better than she is.” 

“You little-” One of the girls started, then stopped after looking at both the uncompromising icy glare coming from Weiss, and the very real ice crystals branching off Myrtenaster. She turned away, her companion muttering “Whatever” as they walked off. 

“Thank you for that.” The faunus girl said, her feathers glinting in the sunlight as she smiled. “I didn’t know what I was going to do about them. I’m Nila by the way.” 

“In the future, don’t even bother with people like them.” Weiss said softly, bitterness evident as she stared at the ground. “People will always find a reason to shove you down if you’re better than them. It doesn’t matter how hard you’ve worked or what you’ve sacrificed to get there, people don’t care.” 

Weiss turned, offering Nila and empty smile as she concluded. “Don’t bother to care about what they say. You’re the only judge of yourself that’s worth listening to.” 

Before Nila could respond, Weiss stalked off without a word, leaving Blake to offer Nila a quick shrug before following. 

“I never thought a Schnee would do that.” Blake snorted, only half joking. 

“Haven’t we been over this already?” Weiss snapped, but there was no real bite in her words. She sighed, “You know I don’t hate faunus, just the White Fang. Besides, people like that are imbeciles.” 

“But still,” Blake muttered. “that was harsh. Even for you.” 

“Who cares?” Weiss retorted. “Not like we’ll ever see them again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally wanted to have Weiss mention her past once or twice, but it never felt natural. I think the main point still got across though.
> 
> Also, the pasting option is being super weird, so I apologize if its not indented or some weird crap like that, but I did the best I could. At one point it was putting a bunch of Spanish letters in the spaces in between the words when I pasted it onto here.


	26. Cloudy Foreshadowing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back to the dreams again.

     Ruby's eyes narrowed as she stared at her surroundings. This was strange, she decided.

     She was somewhere she had never seen. She on a lone tower, fog surrounding her. A quick glance at her clothes showed that she was in her normal battle attire, although crescent rose was nowhere to be seen.

     She strolled over to the tower's edge, which was jagged and crumbling. She looked down to see only more fog below her. Wisps of it drifted upwards past her into a gray sky.

     Somewhere, it clicked that she was dreaming. The realization itself wasn't that much of a surprise to her. Her dreams always had a similar atmosphere to them, and this one wasn't any different except for the fact that it was one she hadn't visited before.

     Her eyes widened as the traces of fog started to turn gray and then into the ashy black of smoke.

     The smell of fire and death clogged her senses, and she had to remind herself that none of this was real. The smoke was billowing up, shutting off her view of the sky.

     Cries rang out around her, some sounding achingly human, while others had an otherworldly undertone to them.

     Ruby backed up into the center of the tower, struggling to find her balance as a tremor shuddered through the stones beneath her.

     A gust of wind followed, carrying a much more nostalgic scent, one that reminded her of the forests at home when the leaves started to turn amber.

     As if to echo her thoughts, a cascade of maple leaves fluttered through with the wind, stalling and drifting to the ground around her. With a curious stare, she tentatively nudged one with her finger. To her shock, it crumbled beneath her finger tips, scattering into specks of bright orange dust. She nudged another with her boot, to the same effect.

     Soon, one leaf after another turned into the same dust, even without her touch, moving outward in a chain reaction. She would usually be in awe at the sight, the soft glow of dust surrounding her as it swirled into the distance. But the growing pit of dread in her stomach said otherwise.

     A shuddering roar broke the sky, and silver light flooded her vision as the earth trembled beneath her.

     She woke up slowly, blinking away the residual feelings from the dream. With a start, she realized that silent tears were making their way down her cheeks. She scrubbed them away quickly, staring at her hands in confusion.

     That was odd. Her dreams were unchanging, generally static, if with minor differences here and then.

     She sat up in her bed, curling her knees inward for comfort.

     It was probably just stress. The Vytal festival started tomorrow, and it would be team RWBY's big debut in front of the entire world. She never was one to be comfortable under the spotlight.

     It didn't mean anything. Just a byproduct of anxiety that had nowhere else to go.

     It didn't mean anything.

     Maybe if she repeated it enough, she'd start to believe it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will never let my weird headcannon die. So for all who skipped over my explanation of it in chapter 9, you better go reread it, because it will be showing up again. 
> 
> Also, a quick snippet of my thoughts when writing this.   
> Me: I should write something nice and fluffy, maybe team CFVY.   
> Also me: But what about the angst? And the dreams? And the dream angst?  
> Me: *already has 400 words written of said dream angst* Well fuck, you're right.


	27. A Kid in Candy Lane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blake is stuck supervising the kid in the candy store, more or less.

          Blake wasn't exactly the person that one would normally trust with children. She didn't trust herself around children.

          So why was she in this situation?

          They were at a school festival dedicated to exploring the culture of other kingdoms. It was great, very informative. The only thing was, there was an entire lane of stands dedicated to one thing and on thing only. Weapons.

          It shouldn't be a problem for normal people. But then again, she had never net someone like Ruby.

          Blake was left staring helplessly as her team leader dashed from stand to stand, ogling at every weapon she could see, touching any she could reach, with or without permission.

          Personally, Blake blamed Yang for this. The older girl had pointed to the weapon lane and then promptly ditched them.

          Blake had to give Weiss some credit though, at least she had been smart enough to follow soon after Yang, suddenly having some 'important business' to attend to.

          So now she was stuck supervising her team leader, who was currently bouncing with glee in front of a particularly flashy sickle and chain.

          "Rub-"

          ...And Ruby was already gone. A small trail of rose petals resting in her place as she raced over to the next both.

          With a sigh, Blake walked after her. Yang better be back soon, because Blake really needed something to hit. Don't get her wrong, she still respected and cared for her teammate, but this was driving her insane. The constant noise of the crowd was starting to give her a headache. And the cat in her wanted to hiss at every person who accidentally brushed up against her, as of now it was 23 but that number was still rising.

          Now Ruby was almost drooling over a scythe. Curved and gleaming, Blake could see the appeal in the weapon, just not to the extent that Ruby did.

          Blake could see the stand's owner leaning forward to talk to Ruby. She couldn't hear what they were saying yet, but she could see how Ruby's eyes grew about twice as big, her jaw just about hitting the floor.

          With an excited grin, Ruby started to reply; only, she was too excited to take the time to write out her thoughts, rather she simply began to sign at a speed that even Blake had trouble following.

          As Blake finally came within hearing distance, she could hear the stand's owner.

          "Um, I'm sorry but I don't-" The owner caught sight of Blake, and an uncomfortable smile accompanied the frantic wave. "do you know sign language?"

          Blake gave a quick glance back to Ruby, who was still signing faster than her eyes could even begin to follow, and gave the owner a helpless shrug.

          With another sigh, Blake leaned against the stand, waiting for Ruby to finish her silent rant.

          Yang better show up soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all have those friends who you love to death, but drag you into this you really don't want to be dragged into. I would know, I am that friend.


	28. The Fashioinista

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Yang join Velvet and Coco for a day out.

"So, Ruby, how much do you go out?" Coco asked with a smile, turning back to face the group. Coco and Velvet had invited team RWBY to come shopping with them in the city, although only Ruby and Yang had agreed in the end. Weiss said she had important studying to do, and Blake said she'd wasn't a fan of shopping in general.

"Not much. I liked to train more." Yang spoke for Ruby as she signed out her response, saving Ruby the annoyance of writing everything down.

"Well, better get ready, because that changes from this point forward!" Coco exclaimed, a grin splitting her face.

"And maybe I can show some of the better places in town." Yang added on with a sly grin, and Ruby rolled her eyes. She knew full well the kinds of places Yang got a kick out of visiting, and had absolutely no interest, thank you very much.

From Velvet and Coco's raised eyebrows, Ruby had a good feeling that they knew exactly what Yang meant.

"Maybe not," Velvet said quietly. "but I know the best ice cream shop in Vale!"

Ruby's eyes lit up at the mention of ice cream, and she gave an excited little bounce at the prospect.

Coco only fueled Ruby's excitement with her confident statement of "Oh yeah, their vanilla is to die for."

The quartet were soon ushered into a nearby store titled "Vanessa's Boutique and Fashion" by an overjoyed Coco. Their only warning having been Coco's exuberant rush of "Ohmygoshit'sstillhereshehasthebestclothes!"

"Wow, this place is fancy." Yang said with a snort, Ruby nodding in agreement. Both took in the sight of the near immaculate racks and shelfs full of clothes and other accessories, most marked far above what either would even think about paying.

"Yeah, but Coco's always been a fashion connoisseur of sorts." Velvet said, giving a small chuckle at the sight of Coco fawning over a scarf. "She has an excellent eye for it."

"Why did she want to become a huntress then?" Yang asked the question both her and Ruby were pondering, each staring at Velvet attentively.

"I have a guess." Velvet admitted. "But that's her story to tell."

"Yeah." Yang muttered in agreement, rubbing her fingers over the fabric of an elegant jacket while Ruby went to see what Coco was looking at.

"Can you believe it? They actually have an authentic Gabriel brand scarf here!" Coco gushed, her hands switching from gesturing in the air to weaving through the folds of the scarf. "It's just, these are so rare outside Mistral."

Ruby's brows furrowed at the mention of the 'Gabriel brand,' but she had to turn back to Yang to get her question asked.

"Coco, Ruby wants to know what's so special about a Gabriel brand." Yang said dutifully, a smile growing as Coco's jaw dropped.

"Ruby." Coco's voice was deadly serious, and Ruby was almost regretting ever asking. "Have you ever heard of the Gabriel branch of Mistral fashion?"

Ruby shook her head, leaning back as Coco seemed to become utterly horrified.

"The Cheng's branch?"

Another denial from Ruby.

"What about Sakura's dresses?"

Another shake of her head.

"You have got to have heard of Paris's shoes, right?"

Ruby shook her head again.

"What about- actually, forget it. Do you know any brands? At all?" Coco gave an exasperated gasp, using a nearby shelf to support her weight.

Ruby shook her head once more, giving Coco a shrug. She never cared about who made her clothes, just as long as they fit and lasted.

"I just- I never thought that- how do you even coordinate your outfits?" Coco spluttered out, still looking shocked.

"Short answer, she doesn't" Yang cut in, with a sharp grin, clearly enjoying the spectacle. "She's basically had the same three outfits for the past four years."

"I-" Coco stopped, at a loss for words once Ruby confirmed the statement with a hesitant nod.

Leaning down Velvet giggled, "I think you broke her."

Ruby walked over to Coco, putting a comforting hand on the older girl's shoulder. Ruby jumped when Coco grabbed her wrist with an iron grip, Coco's glasses slipped slightly, showing Ruby the blazing fire that now raged in her eyes.

"I will fix this." Coco said, her tone leaving no room for argument, even as she dragged a now trapped Ruby deeper into the store.

Ruby stuck her free hand in Yang's direction, a plea for help.

But she was left betrayed as Yang simply gave a helpless shrug, her mock sympathy washing away as she gave Ruby a childish smirk, mouthing "Have fun."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Ruby enjoyed (suffered) the rest of their time together. Also, all company names in this are 100% fake, at least as far as I know, because I wasn't going to put in real brands, that would have been weird. 
> 
> Also, if anyone is wondering (no one is but i'll say it anyways because I want to), for now, my works won't be indented because of how the site's pasting options are. It's really not that big of an issue, so I have accepted it and moved on. No more indentations for my paragraphs!


	29. Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Team RWBY try their hand at conquering Remnant a second time.

"Ha! Take that Ruby! Victory is within my grasp!" Yang did a little victory dance to accompany her announcement while Ruby laid down on the floor, tracing her cheek with a finger to imitate a tear falling down her face.

 

"I still don't know what's going on." Blake said, peering at her cards in obvious confusion. She sat on her mattress, perched above the game board, which sat on the dorm floor.

 

"It's easy. You just use the defense cads to boost your defense, or you could use the attack cards to add to your attack. The stadium cards add different effects depending on where you are, what kind of troops you have, and where your attacking." Yang explained quickly, pointing to the respective cards as she spoke. "Of course, it depends on what kingdom you are playing as- you're Vale- since the cards all have different attributes. Oh, but you can only use the stadium cards once every other turn, and you can only choose to attack or defend on your turn, you can't do both. You also get trap cards, and you can only put those down in specific areas depending on you battle points."

 

"It would be; if this game had any clear structure on how your supposed to do any of those things." Weiss snapped from the chair she sat in, because she refused to sit on the floor, as she once again flipped through the rule book. "There are too many exceptions to the rules, and don't even get me started on the 12 steps you have to go through to even begin to attack."

 

"It's clear enough." Yang insisted, looking to Ruby for an agreement.

 

Ruby nodded, but paused, shrugging instead. She and Yang had been playing this since they were kids, they were probably a little biased when it came to understanding the rules.

 

"I just don't know why I agreed to play this again." Weiss grumbled, slamming the rule shut and tossing it to the ground.

 

"Yeah, I asked you for weeks and you always said no. So why now?" Yang asked, drawing a card from the deck.

 

"Ruby wouldn't stop pestering me." Weiss admitted sourly, shooting Ruby a glare.

 

Ruby gave a sheepish smile, typing, "I kept poking her." 

 

Yang started to chuckle, which quickly grew into full-fledged laughter. Even Blake let out a low chuckle at the statement.

 

"That's Ruby for you." Yang said with a breathless grin.

 

"So I've noticed." Weiss quipped back dryly.

 

"Wait, who's turn was it?" Blake questioned.

 

"Uh, it was Weiss's, right?" Yang stammered, looking to Weiss.

 

"I thought it was Ruby's." Weiss replied.

 

Ruby shook her head, pointing to Blake. Their conversation drifted into silence, each girl trying to figure out where they had left off.

 

"So," Yang broke the silence. "who wants to start a new game?"

 

Her question was met by the collective groans of both Weiss and Blake.


	30. Unwanted Companions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weiss can be easily irritable, especially when it comes down to Penny.

"Ruby!"

Weiss flinched at the shrill voice, her teeth gritting as she recognized it. Turning around with Ruby, the small hope that she was wrong quickly died, leaving only annoyance in its stead.

Ruby waved to the redhead, speeding over to return the offered hug.

Penny. The annoying little piece of- whatever that kept coming back since they ran into her. As of now, that was her biggest regret for the argument she had with Blake, if she was honest.

Weiss hung back while Penny rambled on. Ruby had tagged along with her to pick up some clothes Weiss had waiting for her at the cleaners. A year ago, Weiss would have scoffed at the idea of bringing her clothes to the cleaners, but here, Weiss had quickly learned that the cleaners were a blessing in disguise, especially after a long mission.

And for once, Weiss had been glad of Ruby's company, until Penny had shown her face. Now she was stuck watching as Penny and Ruby conversed back and forth, because of course Penny just also happened to know sign language, along with all the other major languages used on Remnant.

Finding a nearby lamppost to lean against, Weiss focused her attention on the near passerby. Ruby would let her know when she and Penny were done, although, with her luck Penny would just invite herself along.

"Oh! Weiss Schnee, nice to see you." Weiss turned to see Penny offering her a hug. Instead, Weiss extended her arm for a handshake. Penny's head tilted as she peered at Weiss' outstretched hand.

"It's a handshake." Weiss snapped, Penny's eyes widening with recognition and she quickly latched onto Weiss' hand, shaking it vigorously.

Weiss wrenched her hand out of Penny's grasp, pulling both her hands as close to her as she could without it seeming too purposeful.

"Ruby wanted to ask if you would mind if I accompanied the two of you on your trip." Penny asked, leaning a little too close.

Weiss pushed Penny away from her, prepared to deny her immediately, but Ruby, as if she knew what Weiss was planning, gave her a hopeful smile.

Weiss took a deep breath before answering. "Fine. Just try not to talk too much."

Penny gave a little cheer at that, Ruby raising her hands in victory. Weiss trailed behind the two of them as they began to walk again, Penny's overexcited voice somehow still ringing in her ears even with the distance.

God, she was already regretting this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally decided that for this, I plan on Ruby being a straight lesbian and for Weiss to be bi. Just in case you were curious.


	31. Late Nights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for skipping Sunday, but my computer broke and by the time it was fixed I figured I might as well just wait until now. So in return, you guys get an extra shippy chapter.

Ruby almost yelped as she felt the heavy weight of a blanket fall across her shoulders. Sniffling, she turned to see Weiss settling down beside her.

 _"Weiss?"_ Ruby tried her hardest to keep her hands from shaking as she signed the name, to quietly wipe at the fresh tears that she seemed to wake up to on a nightly basis, to perk up enough so that she wouldn't be too obvious.

"I can hear you crying in my sleep." The statement might have been considered offensive to people who didn't know Weiss well, but Ruby knew there wasn't any real bite to it, and could even feel the worry lacing the edges. "What were you dreaming about?"

Ruby shrugged even under Weiss' glare. She really didn't know by now; her dreams were to chaotic to comprehend. All she could recall were flashes of fire, smoke and grim mixed with frantic screams, and a low sinister voice watching over it all.

Weiss sighed, shifting so she could cover herself in the blanket too. The two sat in a comfortable silence and Ruby couldn't help but notice how the moonlight drifting through the window highlighted Weiss' eyes.

"How long has this been going on? Exactly." Weiss asked, her eyes piercing into Ruby's.

Ruby shrugged again, looking out towards the night sky.

"Ruby." Weiss warned, her voice low.

 _"A while."_  Ruby signed her answer with a subdued resignation.

"Have you talked to Yang about it yet?"

Ruby shook her head, and Weiss sighed again.

"You're such an idiot."

Ruby simply leaned against Weiss' shoulder, soaking in the assurance that she wasn't alone.

For once, Weiss returned the gesture, shifting some of her weight for Ruby to support. Ruby didn't bother to acknowledge it, her eyes already sliding shut with ease. A part of her recognized that it was unusual for her to fall back asleep so readily, but that part was lost in the soft warmth exuding from Weiss.

"Goodnight." Weiss froze at the sleepy mumble that rang through the silence, the voice unfamiliar. Her eyes found their way to Ruby, who was now asleep with a peaceful smile.

"Dolt. You can't just out and say something when you're half asleep." Weiss snorted, a small smile on her face. "Who does that anyways?"

The two were woken up by Blake in the morning, a knowing smile on the faunus' face that both Weiss and Ruby did their best to ignore.

Weiss also feigned indifference to the small note she found stuffed in her binder later that day.

**"Thank you. Last night was nice."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny thing, when I first started this, I didn't have any overarching plot or anything that I was planning, it was whatever came to me. Except that now, I more or less actually have an ending point and plot for this. There's still going to be fluff and filler sprinkled in between, and it will still be sporadic in a sense, the plot is slowly going to appear, so enjoy!


	32. Advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruby asks Nora and Ren how they got together.
> 
> Aka, I learn that aromantic Ren is my new favorite headcanon.

Ruby hunted the two members of JNPR down, a single question nagging the back of her mind. She finally caught them outside, walking through the courtyard together. Nora looked like she was about to try and smash the nearest tree for fun, while Ren was wearing a calm smile on his face even with the strong grip he had on Nora's shoulder.

As Ruby held out her scroll for the two to read, her eyes flickered back and forth, refusing to look directly at her friends.

**"How did you two get together?"**

As Ruby forced herself to glance at them though, she paused. Ren simply looked confused, while Nora was a mix of nerves and surprise.

"Oh, we're not together- together, ya know? We're just friends." Nora said, an airy cheerfulness in her voice as she chuckled.

**"I'm sorry. I just thought, since the two of you are always together. It made sense when I thought about it. Sorry."** After Ruby was sure they had read it, she turned to leave before she made a further mess of herself, but Ren's voice stopped her.

"Why did you ask?"

_"No reason, I just wanted some advice. Its stupid really."_ Ruby signed back, watching as Ren translated it to Nora.

"Ah," Nora said, her face breaking out in a grin. "you want some romance advice. Good for you, because I'm great at giving advice!" Nora bounded forward, slinging an arm over Ruby's shoulders. "So who's the lucky girl you have a crush on?"

**"I never said I had a crush! And I definitely didn't say it was on a girl. I just wanted some advice."** Ruby typed hastily, shoving her embarrassment as far down as she could, which wasn't very far sadly.

"So do you?" Nora asked, her grin turning suggestive.

Ruby shook her head vigorously at first, but then her shoulders slumped, and she gave a defeated nod. Nora practically squealed, and even Ren's smile turned softer.

"That's great!" Nora did a little hop of excitement. "So who is it?"

"Nora, she doesn't have to tell us if she doesn't want to." Ren interjected, saving Ruby from what could have been an interrogation.

"Where's the fun in that?" Nora pouted, but thankfully, did digress. "So what do you want advice about?"

**"Well I mean, I'm not even sure it's a crush at all. I really respect her and admire her, but that doesn't exactly mean I have a crush on her. And even if I do have a crush, how do I even tell her?"** Ruby handed her scroll over, wondering if she should be glad or scared as Nora's grin grew wider.

"I think you should stay out of this one Ren. This is a girl kinda thing." Nora said, latching onto Ruby's arm as she began to drag her away. Ren simply bid them goodbye with a small wave.

**"Why don't you want him coming?"** Ruby couldn't help but ask, noting how Nora's smile fell by just a tiny bit.

"He's no good with romantic stuff. He doesn't understand it, or enjoy it really." Nora replied, the disappointment clearly visible now. "That's just how he is though."

**"You okay?"**

"Don't worry about it. We gotta get down to figuring out how to get you and mystery girl together anyways." Nora perked back up, her smile bright once more. Although, Ruby couldn't help but notice that Nora gaze kept shifting, as if she was looking off into the distance at something only she could see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me after writing this: Immediately thinks of a sad pining Nora who secretly thinks she'll never have a chance because Ren is aromantic.  
> Me: What horror have I wrought upon the world. D:


	33. Not So Different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yang and Blake bond over their mutual dislike of birds, particularly ravens.

It starts off simply enough, the black feathers catching Yang's eye. She turned to see the familiar form of a raven sitting in one of the trees in the school courtyard. She didn't hesitate to pick up the first rock she saw and chuck it at the bird. She gave a snort of satisfaction as the bird flew off, shrinking into a distant speck in the sky.

"You okay?" Blake had glanced back to see the exchange.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Yang snapped back, pausing at her harsh tone.

"Your eyes are red." Blake didn't seem fazed by Yang's outburst, staring at her teammate imploringly.

"They are?" Yang asked, but she could already feel the recognizable flow of anger burning in her. "Sorry."

"I didn't take you for a bird hater." Blake chuckled slightly; her ears were still laying low though, and she was carefully watching Yang's reaction.

"Says the cat." Yang gave a laugh of her own before continuing in a softer voice. "It's just ravens though."

"Why ravens?" Blake's ears perked up slightly, awaiting Yang's response.

"My mom's name was Raven." Yang said, and Blake didn't ask for further explanation. "I've never liked having them around."

"Honestly, I don't like birds either." Blake stated. "They always mess with my faunus instincts."

"Wait, wait, wait, you mean like- you want to eat them or something? That's great!" Yang burst out into fully fledged laughter, holding her sides as a grin covered her face.

"This is what I get for trusting you." Blake muttered.

"I'm sorry-" Blake rolled her eyes and Yang huffed in between laughs. "-seriously I am, but just- oh my god you are literally a cat!"

"If I hear anyone else mentioning this I will leave you dangling off the school roof." Blake deadpanned, only serving to make Yang laugh harder than before.

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed." Yang said after she could finally breathe normally.

Blake only nodded her thanks, turning to walk back to the dorm.

Yang was soon by her side, the grin on her face turning into something more teasing. "So, does this mean you like catnip too? Or sleeping in boxes? Or-"

Blake groaned, refusing to dignify the multitude of questions with a response.


	34. Your Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winter and Weiss have a talk about the future.

Winter never considered Weiss a child to think about the future, but then again, Weiss was well known for surpassing expectations. It came out of nowhere, or at least it appeared that way to Winter. The two of them had been in the family gardens, Winter watching over her younger sister as she looked at flowers.

"Sister, do you think I'll ever get married?" Weiss's quiet voice cuts through Winter's idle mind, startling her slightly.

"Winter." Winter corrected; formality shouldn't be something a child had to deal with in her opinion. An opinion her father disagreed with strongly. "And yes, you most likely will."

"Will I get to choose?" Weiss asked, her voice trembling, Winter saw tears forming.

She pat Weiss' head, trying her best to calm her sister. "Don't cry. That isn't something you should worry about for a long time."

"But..." Weiss was determined to have her question answered, tears and all.

Winter sighed, she really doesn't feel like shattering Weiss' dreams at the tender age of six, but she deserved to hear the truth. "Probably not. Who you marry matters a lot. Father is going to want to make sure the Schnee name is upheld well."

"What if I don't love them?"

In the back of her mind, Winter noted the use of 'them' over 'him,' but she decided that was something better left untouched. Instead, she motioned to the empty space on the bench beside her. Weiss sat down quickly, looking up at her with hope and dread wrapped into one.

"That won't matter to Father. All he cares about is keeping our blood 'pure.' That's why I'm going into the military. You can't be married if you're in the military." Winter smiled at the thought. The military hadn't been her first choice in life, but at this point, anything that gave her freedom from Father was a welcome prospect. Ironwood had told her she was a promising student anyways.

"What about the company? Does Father know you're going into the mi-li-try." Weiss sounded out the unfamiliar word, her face scrunching up as she realized instinctively she had gotten something wrong, even if she couldn't figure it out on her own.

"Close, but it's mi-li-ta-ry." Weiss nodded to show that she understood, and Winter continued. "But no, Father doesn't know. He'll probably take away my title as heiress once I tell him. Then you'll be heiress."

"Uh-uh." Weiss shook her head. "I gonna join the military! I don't wanna be heiress!"

"Why wouldn't you want to be heiress? You wouldn't have to worry about your future anymore." Winter replied.

"Because you're already heiress, and that looks super hard." Weiss paused for a moment before muttering softly. "I don't want Father to control me. I wanna do my own thing."

"Then why don't you?" Winter remained impassive even as Weiss stared at her like she had just Weiss to solve the world's hardest equation. "You don't have to join the military. You could become a diplomat, or a teacher, or even a huntress if you wanted to. It's your choice in the end."

"Really?" Weiss' obvious confusion at the idea made Winter's stomach churn in anger, but she forced a smile onto her face as she responded.

"Really."

Winter accepted the shaky hug given to her, smiling down at the little girl sobbing in her arms.

If Winter had a say, she would send Weiss to the first huntsman academy she could find. Weiss had a passion for fighting and doing the right thing that was painfully clear to anyone who bothered to look past her last name.

Still, there would be time to think about that later. She'd rather just enjoy the moment for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly though, I adore Winter. I can see a little bit of myself in her, I kind of have the same attitude with my brothers that she has with Weiss. One of my favorite things about volume three was that she actually turned out to be an overprotective and loving sister, in a roundabout way, instead of the stuck up and snotty sister we thought she was going to be.


	35. Qrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't even know what this chapter is XD

Yang has been a little wary of Qrow for a while. Don't get her wrong, she loved him just as much as she loved her actual father, but there was something about him that she didn't trust. It hadn't started until she was in her final year at Signal; when his excuses became a little to frequent for her to trust completely, and his absences more so.

She knew that he must have his reasons though, so she kept a lid on all the traitorous thoughts that were half-convinced there was something more to Qrow than his teaching job and the random missions he went on.

Despite that, she truly was glad to see him at Beacon, even if his explanation for why he had been called here was vague at best. Ruby really lit up when he was around, and that was always a plus. And she loved that he somehow ended up in a fight minutes after showing his face. At least whenever he was around, things were bound to get interesting.

His admission to staying in contact with her mother angered her, as most things involving her mother did. 'I'll only save you once?' What kind of rule was that? She guessed that her mother actually wanting to help her could be considered a positive, but it was only a candle in the wind, quick and fleeting against the long list of greivances Yang held. Her mother was out there, somewhere, but that was an issue for another day.

She couldn't help but feel a little hypocritical when she decided to keep quiet about the dream she had, where matching eyes had met and mother and daughter had talked under starlight. She didn't know what to say of it though, especially to Qrow. So she took the easy way, only speaking of the brief glance she had in the train car. She didn't like it, but she hadn't been able to find a way out.

She only heard his conversation with Ruby by accident, turning back to pick up her scroll that she had left behind.

"Hey kiddo, you had any weird dreams recently?" The question is casual enough, but Yang's brows furrow in confusion. Why would Qrow be worried about Ruby's dreams?

She doesn't see Ruby's response, deciding to leave her scroll behind. She doesn't bring up what she overheard, trusting Ruby to come to her if anything was wrong.

She'll come to regret both decisions later on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'll be covering the tournament and the main plot points from volume three in the upcoming chapters, so I'm just going to warn you about the upcoming angst now. You have been warned. ;)


	36. Trials

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blake, trapped in the burning cafetorium of Beacon, ruminates the past as she's running.

Her world was on fire. The flames were engulfing the cafetorium, leaving her without a clear exit.

She kept running though, slinking around the flames as best she could, letting her aura take the brunt of the heat.

She couldn't stop yet. Not with Adam behind her.

He was here somewhere, she knew it. She knew that she wouldn't be able to avoid him forever, but she sure was going to try.

A part of her still wouldn't accept the fact that the White Fang was here at all. A peace group, attacking innocent students? She would have thought it impossible before. That showed what an idealist she was.

She gave people the benefit of the doubt more often than not, even if she had learned to hide that side of her.

God, she had been so stupid when she was younger.

She had stayed with him, even when his rage turned on her. Even when he started to get more and more violent, not just with their enemies. She had stayed, because she couldn't move on from a time when they're relationship was just blossoming. She couldn't let go of the times when all they had were gentle touches and whispered secrets. When they knew each other in a way that no one else did.

She wished things had stayed like they had been.

But people change. People turn, either in an instant or over time. She knew that now, even if she would rather ignore the fact.

She heard the sickeningly familiar sound of a sword cutting through the air, and in front of her, and the flames parted.

Adam sheathed his sword, walking calmly through the opening he had just created.

She took a step back, her body shaking. She was about to turn and run, try and find another way to avoid this confrontation, to flee and never look back. But the scorching heat of flames reminded her just where she was. She was in Beacon Academy, the place that had taken her in, accepted her despite knowing her history. She made friends. She had a team. Both accepted her for who she was, even if Weiss took a little longer than Ruby and Yang.

Her teammates wouldn't run. Her teammates weren't cowards like she was.

But it was only her, Adam, and the flames. Her teammates were fighting their own battles to try and save Beacon.

They were fighting their battles, she needed to try and fight hers.

Steeling her nerves, she drew Gambol Shroud, settling herself into a defensive position as Adam neared.

Blake just hoped she would make it out of here alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blake and Adam had some sort of abusive relationship and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. I'm sorry, but their entire interaction in volume 3 only gave off those vibes. I mean, excluding the 2 seconds we see of her during the backstory episode, but even then, he wasn't exactly open with her. I know we don't have a full background, and I'm not claiming to be certain of the full extent of the abuse, but I definitely believe it was there in some shape or form.
> 
> Also, completely irrelevant, but some people have asked me if I'm going to have bumblebee in this story, and I have to say that's kind of up in the air. I'm not against the ship, I just think it needs to be done right if its done at all. Personally I don't think Blake is ready for a romantic relationship, both in this story and in actual canon. Which is also why I have an issue with the fact that the creator seem to be pushing blacksun in volume 4. I don't have a problem with the actual ship(I think its kinda cute tbh), but I feel like the creators are trying to rush it, which detracts from it overall.
> 
> Honestly the only thing I ship with Blake is a healthy, well developed, properly paced relationship. So I'll just see where the story takes me in terms of that.


	37. After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pyrrha thinks before her big fight

Pyrrha sighed, another one to add onto the many she seemed to have recently.

A part of her said she was being selfish about this. Another part said that she shouldn't have this kind of responsibility at all. Another part thought she should have decided by now. And yet another that said all the time in the world wouldn't be enough for her to make a clear decision.

Sitting on one of the benches made for tournament participants, she stared blankly down at her clenching and unclenching hands. The same hands that had hurt Jaune only half an hour ago. She felt sick, and that was even with her ignoring the upcoming fight. The tournament seemed so small though, when put up against the threat that the fall maiden's condition put forth.

She should be happy at the opportunity, it was a greater call than most people ever got in their lives. It was her chance to really help people, like she had always wanted to.

But Jaune, her team, her friends. She would have to leave them all behind. She just had a chance to fall in love, feel like she was really living her life to the fullest, and then Ozpin had called her into his office.

Her grand destiny was a simply yes away, but it was costing more than she wanted to give.

With another sigh, she rested her hands. She still had time to figure this out. She still had time. That's all she needed really, was more time. That, and some way to make up her actions towards Jaune. He hadn't deserved that. All he was trying to do was help, and she had let her emotions get the better of her. Now he was probably angry with her, and she couldn't blame him.

After the fight, she decided, she would try to settle things after the fight. It would let her clear her head, something she desperately needed right now.

Her opponent was Penny Poledina, a girl from Atlas. Pyrrha had only met her once or twice, both times had been through Ruby. She didn't know much of what the girl could do, besides for what she's heard from Ruby and seen from the shaky footage of the shipyard fight. Still, Pyrrha was confident in her abilities. She hadn't won those tournaments as a child out of luck.

With a deep breath, she steadied herself. She could do this. All she had to do was go in there, win the fight, apologize to Jaune, and then make the choice Ozpin had presented her with. She could do this. She could do this.

The five-minute warning for the fight sounded over the speakers, and Pyrrha stood. Shaking off any residual thoughts that tried to cling to her. All she needed to do now was focus on the fight, everything else would come after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, I'm still rolling around in Pyrrha angst even when its been over a year since her death.


	38. Fault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so sorry for how late this chapter is. I went to stay with my great-grandmother for about two weeks, and I thought I would have time to write. Spoiler alert, I did not have any time to write. But now I'm back, and as a reward, I give you more angst. Yay!

It was all her fault. It was all her fault. It was all her fault.

The mantra repeated itself in her brain, each repetition cutting into her soul a little more. She deserved it though, she deserved every stab of pain that ran through her aching head, every bruise that littered her skin.

It was all her fault.

Ruby knew it was too late to change the past, but that didn't stop her from desperately wishing she could. Trapped in her bed while she recovered, her mind went through different scenarios, highlighting where she had failed.

It was all her fault.

She had snuck out of her bed earlier to see Yang, now she almost regretted that choice. Everything was gone. The school, her friends, her team… Pyrrha.

It was all her fault. It was all her fault.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, hot and wet. She wiped them in vain, sniffling quietly. She shouldn't be crying, she didn't deserve to cry any more than she already had. Not when this was her fault.

If she had just connected the dots sooner. If she had actually paid attention to her dreams. If she was just faster. If she could actually fight in hand to hand combat. If Mercury hadn't been waiting for her. If she had just been strong enough, then she could have stopped Cinder's plot.

But she wasn't, and she hadn't.

It was all her fault.

But that didn't mean she had to sit here. Wiping her tears, Ruby could feel her resolve building as a plan formulated itself in her mind.

Uncle Qrow had mentioned Haven, that's where Cinder and her crew had gone. Who would go with her though? Not like she could go alone, especially with the CCT down.

Yang most likely wouldn't, if this morning was anything to go by. The pool of instinctual dread in Ruby's stomach suggested that it would.

Blake ran, and Weiss… Weiss was forced back home in Atlas. She didn't have a team to take, but Jaune might come, and maybe even Ren and Nora.

She scrambled out of bed, her tears gone as she searched for a pen and paper to write on. Thankfully, she knew where Jaune lived, and that Ren and Nora were staying with him.

If it comes down to it, she'll go alone. She knew that the idea was stupid, and far-fetched, but she couldn't let go of the small spark of hope, not if she wanted to stop herself from crumbling to pieces.

She trained when her dad wasn't looking, studied all the rest. She desperately wanted to ask her dad to teach her how to fight with her hands instead of her weapon, but she couldn't risk him finding out. He would stop her if he did, and she wouldn't let him. Ruby knew all he wanted was for her to be safe, but staying safe wasn't saving anyone. Staying safe was just going to leave more people like Penny, like Pyrrha.

When Jaune, Nora, and Ren all send their support, looking for a departure date, she nearly breaks her bed from her excited leaps.

When the day of reckoning came, all she left is a note behind. It didn't even begin to scratch the many, many reasons she had to do this, but it was all she could manage. She knew this would leave her dad a worried mess, but she wasn't going to give up here.

She nearly tears up when she sees Jaune, Ren, and Nora again. She felt bad, dragging them into this, but they all assured her they wouldn't be here unless they wanted to be.

But they didn't know about her eyes, but it's not like she could just up and tell- or sign, "Oh hey, my eyes can sometimes freeze things. Apparently, it's from some ancient legend and my mom had them too, yay?"

So, she didn't mention it, it probably won't come up anyways.

They visit her mother's grave one more time before they leave for good. Ruby took a moment to gather herself, bringing her determination and hope to the surface, if only to force herself through the lingering remains of despair. With one more breath, she turns away, leaving her first mistake behind her.

As she looked to the rest of her team, she smiled.

It was still her fault; all of it was. One step at a time though, maybe she could make up for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing that disappointed me about volume 4 was the lack of development shown on Ruby's part. I know they didn't really have much time for it (pacing was another issue for me, they tried to cram too much into one volume), but Ruby really needs some substantial character development, especially after what went down in volume 3. Because honestly, she could have stopped Cinder's entire plan if she had just been able to stop the fight in time, and I feel like she knows that. If I was in her place, I would have some major guilt over all of it.
> 
> I'll probably do a couple of more drabbles from volume 3 after this, then move onto volume 4.


	39. Tournament Battles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Team RWBY faces off against team ABRN.

Ruby grinned as a bullet brushed past her hair, narrowly avoiding her face. Logically, she knew that her aura would have protected her regardless, but there was no getting rid of the adrenaline rush. She considered going after the shooter, Nadir, but thought better of it when she spotted Weiss creeping up behind him.

Charging forward towards the nearest opponent, she swung her scythe, intending to sweep Bolin off his feet. He avoided the attack though, using his staff to leap behind her. She managed to dodge his return strike, but only by speeding left, leaving petals in her wake.

As she readjusted her grip on Crescent Rose, she took a moment to observe the battlefield. Half ice, half fire, the arena was split in two by the contrast. She could see that Yang was struggling to find a grip on the ice, and Blake was getting pushed back by Reese's hoverboard.

She knew that she wouldn't be able to take down Bolin on her own, but Weiss could, especially with plenty of ice already available.

Instead, Ruby raced away faster than Bolin could follow, finding the highest ice spire and placing herself on top of it. She swung her scythe down, lodging it deep in the ice. Laying herself flat, she began to take aim.

This was one of the things she hated most about not being able to talk, she had to resort to putting all her faith in her teammates, which wasn't a bad thing, she trusted them, but she didn't want to be forced to do so. She'd much rather be able to shout out commands midbattle, rather than crafting plans in her head and hoping her teammates would telepathically pick up on it.

Still, as she shot at Auburn, distracting the girl long enough for Yang to stabilize herself, she had to thank Weiss for her forethought.

Before the tournament matches had even begun, Weiss had compiled a list of all teams entering the tournament. Weiss came to Ruby first, saying that they should try and make plans for fighting against every team, using what the internet had on the other teams to their advantage. Ruby had agreed with Weiss' point that they wouldn't have the time or the ability to make a plan, then somehow alert everyone on the team of what exactly the plan was.

One of their main plans for team ABRN had been to let Ruby snipe from above while Weiss immobilized the team, using Blake and Yang's help to round up all their opponents in one area.

Of course, even as each member of team RWBY recalled the pre-formulated plan, it didn't work out exactly according to the script. Auburn freed the two of her teammates that Weiss had managed to freeze before anyone could stop her. Reese was gaining the upper hand on Blake, using to fire dust to her advantage.

Still Ruby decided to keep her position, shooting at Reese to try and give Blake a break. It worked, more or less, as Blake scrambled behind the nearest block of ice. Ruby couldn't focus on Blake anymore though, noting how Bolin and Nadir were starting to get precariously close to actually overwhelming Weiss. Taking careful but quick aim, she managed to get the bullet to graze both their aura's in one shot.

The buzzer sounded, Reese had been eliminated. Internally, Ruby gave a little cheer, because once the numbers were unevenly split, her team had the advantage. Blake was now racing to attack Auburn from behind, letting Yang score a powerful punch straight to Auburn's jaw.

Weiss flung both Nadir and Bolin over to where Auburn lay, trying to regain her footing.

Ruby felt her chest swell with pride and joy as Blake and Yang moved seamlessly together, using Weiss' ice to propel Yang even faster towards the downed team.

It was a complete knockout, the rest of team ABRN being flung outside the arena. Ruby raced down to where the rest of her team gathered in the center of the arena.

She felt a small twinge of disappointment that she wasn't of more use, but it was quickly smothered by joy, because they actually did it. They were going to the doubles round.

Grinning from ear to ear, she signed excitedly at Weiss, mostly ranting about their victory, and she got a small smirk in return. Blake had a soft smile on her face as well, and Yang's toothy grin was big enough to rival Ruby's.

As the four of them left, the crowds applause bidding them farewell. Ruby was content to listen to Yang's excited cheers about how awesome they had all been.

Still, as she shot a quick glance at Weiss' relaxed smile, words burned in her chest, begging for a way out. Ruby was sure that she wouldn't have let them escape even if she could; they crossed a line she had been desperately trying to keep standing for the past few months, the line between purely friendship and something... something else, something that Ruby didn't want to tread into just yet.

_You were amazing. You've always been amazing._


	40. Broken, Then Rebuilt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More angst ft. Yang
> 
> Honestly, what even is a schedule anymore? But in my defense school started today and I had a crapton of summer work to finish last minute. What can I say? I'm a procrastinator at heart.

Yang stared down at her clenched fists, her teeth grit in frustration. A low growl escaped her throat as her thoughts unbiddenly flitted back to Mercury's smug smirk.

Mercury had attacked her, she was sure of it. But the camera's showed differently, as did the horrified testaments of countless witnesses.

Yang couldn't understand any of it. She couldn't even begin to fathom what exactly this meant for her. Was she really just seeing things? Twisting reality to feed some monstrous desire for bloodlust? But it had all felt real, it had looked real, it was real- or had been.

It's not like she could blame them though, for not believing her. She knew it didn't make sense, and the cameras, plus the boy with a broken leg spoke for everything else.

Over all of it though, the thing that horrified her most was her teammates' reaction. They had come to see her when she was being escorted away by the guards.

Ruby didn't sign anything, her gaze just kept flickering between Yang's eyes and the floor. Weiss look disgusted, a tinge of fear showing through in her tight frown and scathing glare. Yang didn't miss the way Weiss had angled herself, putting a barrier between Yang and Ruby. Any other time, it would be funny, but not like this, never like this.

And Blake, Blake looked close to tears, her eyes glued to the floor. Her bow was further down than Yang had ever seen it, and Blake's teeth were grit tight with an emotion Yang couldn't decipher. Blake shifted away as Yang was led past her, the movement was tiny, unnoticeable to most, but it didn't escape Yang.

Now she was just angry. Angry at herself. Angry at the world. Angry at Mercury.

Most of her anger was unjustified, especially considering the boy who's leg she had just snapped, but logic could never hold back her emotions, and it sure as hell wasn't going to now.

More than anything, even the anger, she wanted answers.

Her mind flips back to another memory, of a deserted courtyard, dead of night, and the familiar figure waiting for her there.

Raven had warned Yang about what was to come. She only used vague, nondescript words, but the meaning was there. If anything, she had told Yang to be wary of the team from Haven, the team that had a girl with emerald hair, and a boy with silver hair.

Yang may not like her mother, hell, she could barely even trust the woman. But there had been something in the woman's voice, something that screamed to Yang that it was nothing but brunt, brutal honesty.

So Yang had watched, carefully, out of the corner of her eye. She had looked for anything that might seem off about the new arrivals. To her annoyance, she hadn't been able to find anything that might justify Raven's claims- well, besides for the fact that their other teammate, Cinder, looked a little too old to be in a training school, but Yang was never one to point out bad life decisions for other people. They never seemed to have a fourth teammate either, but that suspicion was cleared in the first round of the tournaments.

So she had waited, looked onwards, and here she was now.

She would find the truth. What she saw was valid, it had to be, to some extent.

She would find the truth and she would set things right with the public, but more importantly her teammates, her sister.

She would do it, and she would rather die before letting someone stop her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anybody know what's happening with that volume 2 end credits scene, because I sure don't. Also, how in the world did Cinder pass as a student? She looks years older than anybody attending should. I mean, it was still a great plan, but really? No one caught onto that?


	41. Origins of Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized I never wrote something about JNPR's dance and now I'm just glad I avoided a tragedy.
> 
> Also, I hit 10,000 views and I'm in shock. Thank you so much for all the support you've given me!!!!!

"Okay, okay," Yang said, pointing to the white dress Jaune was currently wearing. "so that explains the dress. But where in hell did all of you learn that dance?"

Both team RWBY and team JNPR sat around Ruby's bed, where Ruby was resting from her encounter with the strange thief. The authorities had sent her back to the school after she had told them her side of events, or at least, they had once Ozpin showed up.

But at the question, most of the members of team JNPR cast a sidelong glance, unwilling to answer. That was, until Nora chirped out, "Oh, the dance was Ren's thing."

"Nora!" Ren snapped, his cheeks tinted.

"What?" Nora asked, her voice barely rising above Yang's loud cackles. "It's true."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Yang raised a hand as she took a breath, her eyes flickering between Nora and Ren. "you're telling me that Ren taught you guys that?!" Yang broke down into laughter once more, and even Blake let out a snort.

"I must admit, even I find that unusual." Weiss spoke up from where she sat by Ruby's feet.

"There is a perfectly logical explanation." Ren assured them before going silent.

"And?" Blake prompted.

"There is an explanation." Ren replied stoically. "I didn't say I was willing to tell you."

"What he means is," Nora started, her face breaking out into an even wider grin. "he saw the dance in a movie and really wanted to learn it. And then Pyrrha suggested that it might be a good teambuilding exercise if we learned it together."

"I wasn't expecting us to use it like this though." Pyrrha admitted with a nervous look.

"Yeah, I mean it was fun doing it, but then there was the crowd to deal with afterwards and- ugh." Jaune shuddered.

"Says the guy who wore a dress based on some casual bet." Blake deadpanned back, causing a fierce blush to erupt across Jaune's face.

"Hey! I look just fine in a dress." Jaune said, crossing his arms and pointing his nose in the air, although he still failed to keep his blush under control.

At the simultaneous chuckles the came from everyone, Ruby turned over, pulling the blankets further up before relaxing into sleep once more.

"We should probably quiet down." Blake commented, the rest of the group nodding their assent.

"It is getting late." Pyrrha said, looking at the blaring 2:23am that shone from her scroll. "We should all be getting some sleep."

Jaune agreed with a tired nod, as did Blake.

"Sleep is for the weak." Nora muttered before a disapproving look from Ren made her sigh out a quiet "Fine."

"See you guys tomorrow." Yang yawned, stretching before she stood, the rest of the group following suit. Although Weiss had to slowly slide down from Ruby's bed to the floor.

As team JNPR left, each of them bidding team RWBY goodnight, Yang turned back to her teammates.

"Anyone want to put bets down on when Arkos gets together?"

Yang was met with collective groans and Blake's whispered question of, "Arkos?"


	42. Nora Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nora backstory time!

The first real memory Nora had was of being alone, and scared. She didn't remember her parents, nor her siblings, if she ever had any to begin with. She didn't remember being picked up by the people who found her on the side of the road. She didn't remember arriving at the orphanage that housed her for a few years

She learned how to talk by watching the older children at the orphanage. She hadn't been around people enough to learn before then, and the orphanage didn't offer any education to its residents.

Talking became her new favorite pastime. She could make her voice sound bright and happy even when she didn't feel that way. She could finally talk to other people, even if none of them really seemed to like her. Not that it mattered much to her, because as long as she could speak, she could talk away the monsters that lurked in the corners of her eyes. The shadows that loomed in the night shrank back whenever she whispered to herself. She talked about anything and everything; she made up fairy tales in the dead of night when she couldn't sleep.

It didn't take long for her to get tired of life at the orphanage. The other kids never grew to trust, like, or even play with the new girl.

"She never shuts up."

"I know, right? She's so annoying."

"She woke me up last night."

"She doesn't even know how to play ball."

"She's probably just dumb."

"She's definitely dumb, no one smart would laugh that much."

Nora got sick of it all. So, she hopped on the next cart that passed by, hiding behind the barrels. The driver didn't think to check, and so her grand escape was a success.

Soon though, she realized her error. She hadn't brought anything with her. Sure, she didn't really have anything that was hers, but she didn't even bring a scrap of food or water.

She got off the cart at the first town it stopped at, half delirious with hunger and thirst. Luckily, the town had a stable, full of water left out for the animals. Nora could still remember the horrible taste of that water, but at the time, it had tasted no less sweet than honey.

Then came the problem of food. This town didn't have an orphanage, and anyone she went up to only gave her a pitying look before promptly ignoring her.

So in the end, she had swiped an apple from one of the shop vendors. Thankfully, he didn't spot her, or didn't comment on it.

She took to stealing after that, it was the only way to survive after all. She got her water from the stream that ran throughout the town. She slept in the alleyways between the houses, and hid whenever people got too close. The town wasn't huge, and even at the young age of six, Nora hadn't wanted her face to be too well known to the residents.

The clothes she had gotten from the orphanage soon grew dirt stained and tattered. Sometimes she would stop and look at her reflection in the water, twirl a strand of her knotted hair in her fingertips, wondering if her eyes would look so empty if she had a home.

Then one day, when she had happened to stumble across a piece of bread someone had thrown out, saving her the energy of having to steal, three boys had shown up.

She tried to run, but they soon had her cornered.

"What are you doing with that bread, huh?"

"I bet she stole it, just look at her."

"Eww, that bread has mold all over it."

"You're right, she probably got it out of the trash."

"What kind of person eats garbage food?"

Then another boy had shown up, looking less aggressive, and more confused, more scared. Nora wanted to tell him just to leave her alone before the boys ganged up on him too, but even for someone who talked as much as she did, she couldn't find her voice.

Then the man had shown up, the boys had fled, and Nora was soon behind them. The man had looked intimidating, but he had also looked kind, far too kind for some scraggy orphan like her to face.

She hadn't though too much of the encounter, until the world started raining fire and blood, and her ears were ringing from the screams.

It attacked in the dead of night, when no one was expecting it. A swarm of weaker grimm followed in its footsteps. She had been sleeping in her usual spot when the smoke woke her.

Wide eyed, it was only luck that she managed to avoid the building that had been about to collapse on her. From then, she had ran, seeking the closest shelter she could find.

Under the bridge, she had watched the town burn with tearful eyes. All she could think about was when the grimm would find her. What would they do? Eat her in one bite? Piece by piece? She didn't want to think about it. But surrounded by death and demons, her mind refused to leave the topic. She was awaiting her death, delivered by the black claws of some soulless beast.

Then he had found her again, Lie Ren, as he introduced himself.

"We have to be brave." He said, then hugged her close. In all her short life, Nora couldn't remember ever feeling as secure, as safe, as she had wrapped up in Ren's arms.

After the Nevermore left, Ren tried to stand, but she grabbed his wrist so fast that he just fell to the ground.

"Don't go." She whispered.

"I won't leave," Ren stood up once more and held out his hand, smiling as Nora grabbed it. "see? We can go together."

Nora returned his smile, noticing a wooden hammer out of the corner of her eye. She wanted it, just in case, but she didn't want to dare the trip out from the bridge.

Ren noticed where she was staring though, and dragged her out into the open, heading straight towards it.

"Here." He said, picking up the hammer for her and placing it in her hands.

"Thank you." Nora replied, her smile now a bit wider.

Soon enough, her strongest memory went from being alone and outcast, to being with Ren. To fighting with Ren. To training with Ren. He accepted her in a way no one else ever had. He listened to her nighttime rambles. He didn't mind when her voice got a little too cheery whenever she was feeling something unwelcome. He played along with her made up games. He explained the things she asked about, even when they were simply, mundane things that everyone should know.

He was her first friend, and her first love.

It hadn't surprised her though, her crush. She might have even seen it coming. But when she was 12 years old, having a crush on someone who thought sharing a bed was the most normal thing in the world wasn't the easiest thing to deal with.

Still, he had stayed with her. Through her horrible lies and stammering, to her sudden awkwardness that would spring up at the most inopportune times.

Then, about a year or two later, he had sat down and talked to her about how he just didn't feel romantic attraction. For a moment, Nora feared that he had realized her feelings and wanted to break off their friendship because of it.

When she asked why though, all he said was that he had tried a relationship. Only for a few days, but he simply hadn't been able to feel the same things his partner was feeling. He had tried again, just to see, but they had all ended up like the first. Eventually he just accepted it.

Nora knew what this meant for her, and shoved her crush down into a deep, dark hole, to let it rot. Ren didn't need her dragging him down with stupid things like that. Instead, she just enjoyed tormenting him on not telling her about his several relationships. She pretended she was fine, and she was. Because as long as Ren was happy, she was happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And somehow I manage to make half of it angst. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> But on a lighter note, when they first showed the Nuckaleeve's footprint, my fist thought was that it was the symbol for Raven's tribe where Ren had been raised. Literally, I had an entire storyline planned out for that, and then all my theories were crushed into the dust. But they became the beautiful phoenix that is the canon backstory. I didn't tweak too much of it, because I don't believe in fixing what isn't broken.


	43. Inspiration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weiss comes across an unlikely face during the attack.

Weiss speared yet another Beowolf with her ice, her eyes trying to find her next target in the midst of the panicking crowd.

Her and Blake had been looking for some food, as none were particularly interested in watching the match in person, when the first screams had pierced the air.

It had started as a rush of whispers and gossip. A cacophony of horrified gasps and frantic mutters. Weiss couldn't pick up much besides for "Poor girl." and "Robots?"

Then the real screams started, people scrambling past them with shouts of "Grimm!" and "Run!"

She had tried to keep Blake within her sights, but her teammate had gotten separated in the stampede. Weiss knew Blake could very well handle herself, but that didn't stop the twinge of worry.

Weiss couldn't waste time and effort looking for her though, not with a literal swarm of grimm terrorizing defenseless bystanders.

She heard a snarl behind her, and turned just in time to impale a lunging Beowolf in its chest. The weight on her sword fades as the grimm dissipates.

A loud screech drew her attention to a teenager laying with his back pressed against the ground, the jaws of an Ursa leaning closer to his helpless form.

Activating a glyph beneath both her and the Ursa, she shot forward, attack the Ursa in a furry of quick, small strikes. By the time she's done, the Ursa falls over, limp as its body becomes a part of the air.

Weiss was about to tell the civilian to find shelter, like she had told every other bystander, but one glance identified the boy as Russel Thrush, of all people.

"Why aren't you fighting?" Weiss snapped after dragging the boy to his feet. "This is what you've trained for, isn't it?"

"There's so many of them though." Russel answered, his eyes wide and panicked. "We don't stand a chance."

"You don't stand any chance if you don't even try and fight." Weiss retorted, but somewhat regrets her blunt phrasing as Russel's eyes only go wider.

She had to do something to get him to fight, or else he was just going to become another victim. Nothing in her mind was sounding convincing enough, so she turned to her memories of Ruby. For someone who couldn't actually speak, the girl had one of the most convincing arguments Weiss had ever seen, and that was coming from a girl who grew up around public speakers and politicians.

"Don't you want to save people? Be a huntsman?" Weiss hoped her words were enough like Ruby's to bring Russel back from his terror. "As long as you can fight, there is a chance you'll win. And even then, there's always hope."

As she waited for a response, she raised a wall of ice around them, shutting the grimm out.

"I-I-I- I don't want to die!" Russel looked near to tears, his hands shaking as he brought his hands up near his face. "I don't want to die here!"

"Then fight Russel, fight and win." Weiss replied curtly, abandoning her meager attempt to mimic Ruby's style. "Do you have a scroll?"

Russel nods his head, timidly revealing his scroll for Weiss to see.

"Call your locker here; your weapon's in there, right?"

Russel's eyes widen once more, but then his fingers begin to type furiously on his screen. Within moments, a locker shot down from the sky and landed between them.

Russel retrieves his weapons, then gives Weiss one more look, like he was asking permission. It unsettled her, but even then, she asked, "Are you going to fight?"

Russell gave her a shaky, but determined nod. With a grunt, Weiss lowers the ice around them, and goes back to eliminating grimm. She didn't bother keeping track of Russell, focusing on her own fight.

Still, she was sure he was doing reasonably well. He had to get into Beacon somehow, and he had almost a year of training backing him.

Now, if only she could contact one of her teammates.


	44. Making Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A fluffy break from all the angst I've been writing recently, except it also has like a smidge of angst? Its only for like a line or two though.

"Really?" Weiss snorted derisively, her eyebrows raised as she stared at Yang. "That's what you suggest?"

"You're the one who got yourself into this mess." Yang said, and while there's a teasing smile on her face, there is also a subdued anger in her eyes, a mix of purple and red. "If you want to make it up to Rubes then you're going to have to work for it, or bake for it."

"She's not going to forgive me just because I baked her cookies Yang." Weiss snapped back.

"It's Ruby, of course she will." Yang shot back, sliding the baking directions closer to the cold girl. "Especially once she knows you took the time to make them."

"I'll think about it." Weiss eventually responded, and Yang took it as her cue to leave, waving with a casual "Good luck."

Weiss sighed, looking first at the directions, then at the kitchen she was currently standing in. If she was being honest, she wasn't even sure if students were even allowed to be here. And Yang wasn't exactly a stickler to the rules.

That's more incentive to go along with Yang's idea, Weiss supposed. Ruby did have an insatiable love for the baked goods, and Weiss couldn't think of anything better.

On the other hand, Weiss didn't have a clue what she was doing, with anything in here really. Cooking was never expected from someone like her, not when she could just pay someone to cook for her. Still, she had snuck into the kitchens many times when she was younger, enjoying the company of the chefs that made their living inside the kitchen. She was bound to remember some things from back then.

As she began, her mind wandered back to the reason she had even considered baking in the first place.

They had been in class, practicing training out in the forest surrounding the school, the one lacking in grimm. It was team against team, and because Ruby couldn't talk, they couldn't relay orders fast enough to keep up with the opposing team.

After their blatant loss Weiss had, for lack of a better word, exploded. She hadn't been mad at Ruby more than she had been mad at their failure. But in her frustration, she hadn't defined that difference, and now Ruby was avoiding her because of it.

She had been looking for a way to show that she hadn't meant it, while also remaining strong in front of their leader. Because she wasn't exactly keen on admitting that she had only been mad because of course they lost, because she hadn't been smart enough to plan ahead, she hadn't been good enough to improvise when things started to fall apart. She was a Schnee, she had to be better than the rest. She couldn't fall behind, not with so much resting on her attendance here.

Well, she shouldn't spend time dwelling on things she couldn't control. She just had to hope that these cookies did the trick.

About 4 hours later, Weiss stood as the proud creator of a small batch of six cookies. After three failed batches, two accidentally broken mixing bowls, one ice glyph summoning, two near fire disasters, and too many faulty measurements and mixed up ingredients to count, she was finished.

She put the cookies onto the plate, a plastic one this time, and began to clean up her mess. Cleaning up took her no time at all, but if materials weren't put away where they were supposed to go than that was no fault of hers.

With a sigh, she picked up the cookies, and started her trek back to the dorm room. Once she arrived, she knocked, proud and confident and without a single shred of doubt or fear, not one.

Ruby was the one to answer it, and Weiss barely caught the edge of Ruby's cape as the younger girl tried to speed away to hide.

"Here." Weiss shoved the cookies near Ruby's face, maintaining eye contact as was proper. "I made them in the hopes that you will forgive my actions the other day. I was frustrated at the situation, not you, but I didn't make that clear."

Tentatively, Ruby picked up one of the cookies and took a bite of it, a smile blooming on her face.

"Are we… good?" Weiss asked, setting the plate in Ruby's eager hands.

Ruby tilted her head in thought before nodding and going back to vacuuming the cookies up.

If Weiss let out a relieved sigh as soon as Ruby was out of earshot, then that was solely her own business.

And if even later than that, Ruby was approached by Yang, a sharp grin outlining the older sibling's face as she asked the younger if things had been worked out, the elders grin turning even sharper when the younger nodded, then that was their business alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explanation for the last paragraph, Yang 100% set up hidden cameras to see just how badly Weiss would fail. She now has the ultimate blackmail. I couldn't find a way that fit in though, but i was also to stubborn to remove the last paragraph completely.
> 
> Also, anybody have some good, complete RWBY fanfic recommendations? I'm starting to run dry of fanfics to read. The main ship of the fic doesn't really matter to me, my only judgment is the quality of the story and writing.


	45. Farewell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just back at it again with the angst :D

"What are you saying?" Weiss could barely feel herself breathing as the temperature around her seemed to drop further every second. Her hands tightened into fists, but she could feel herself trembling.

"You heard me." Her father didn't even bother to face her. "We leave for Atlas tomorrow. You are clearly not safe here, and seeing as Beacon doesn't exist anymore, you have no reason to remain."

"But-" The word forced itself up her throat, pass the years of conditioning, the fact that fighting her fathers will wasn't something that a person did.

"You don't have a say in this. You are required back home." Her father cut her off before she could even begin, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.

"Yes father." Weiss muttered, her mind still scrambling to reassemble any sense of order. Going home had seemed like such a far-off concept for so long that she hadn't even considered what the attack might make her father do.

But still, leaving her teammates, her friends, the people she had come to trust most, was a concept she couldn't wrap her head around.

Walking out of the temporary office her father had set up, she could only stare blankly at the ground as she made her way back to the survivor shelter on memory alone.

Yang and Ruby were still there, awaiting transport back to Patch with Qrow. Of course, Ruby was still passed out, and Yang, Yang wasn't herself. Jaune was still in shock mostly. Nora and Ren too, although they had moved past some of their grief to give Jaune shoulders to cry on. At least Jaune had been kind enough to open his home to them, whenever they were allowed to go back.

She gets back to the shelter eventually, her shock now being taken over by a creeping numbness, one that was spreading outwards from her chest. She was going home, back to where the most common sound was her own footsteps echoing throughout the halls, where every action was scrutinized and monitored, where her father would be able to reassert control over her life once more.

She had to step around the hordes of students and civilians that crowd the center, finding her way to where Yang was staying in the medical area of the shelter.

"Hey." Weiss greeted softly, the sight of Yang's hollow eyes and empty expression hitting her in the gut once again.

"Hi Weiss." Yang's voice is quiet and small, so very, very small. It was a far cry from the loud and boisterous girl Weiss had come to know.

"Any news about Blake?" Weiss asked, knowing that if Sun had managed to find anything, Yang would be the first person he came to. Out of two of them, Yang had taken Blake's disappearance the hardest. From what Weiss could gather, Yang felt abandoned, left behind. Weiss could say the same for herself, although she could also sympathize with Blake. Blake had been the only person with Yang when it had happened, and Weiss could only begin to imagine the guilt that would come from that. Weiss' eyes move down to Yang's bandaged arm, no longer bloody and mangled as she had seen it that night.

Yang just shook her head, staring at the wall ahead of her.

"I have to leave," Weiss said, her fingers clenching once more from where they sat in her lap. "my father showed up from Atlas to escort me. We leave tomorrow."

"You're leaving?" Yang was looking at Weiss now, something desperate flashing through her purple eyes.

"I have to." Weiss shook her head, her teeth gritting. "I don't have a choice."

Yang went quiet at that, and Weiss stayed with her for few more minutes before leaving.

"I'm sorry Yang." Weiss whispered as she crossed through the doorway.

Next, she went to Ruby's room, where her younger teammate sat deathly still on her own bed, the only sign of life being the shallow rise and fall of her chest.

Weiss sat in one of the chairs, sighing as her shoulders fell limp.

"I know you can't hear me, but I have to leave tomorrow. My father came, I don't even have a choice." Weiss' voice shook, but there wasn't anyone around to judge her for it. The numbness had settled in her fingers now, and she could barely feel them as they trembled. Checking one more time to make sure no one was going to burst in, Weiss let the dam crumble.

"I just- I don't want to leave. God, I didn't think it would ever come down to this. I didn't even think I would like any of you. I thought you guys were idiots, especially you. You just never stop, you know? For someone who doesn't ever say a word, you're the most sociable person I know. You were always typing away. You were always there to help anyone who needed it."

Weiss swallowed, her throat thick and her eyes stinging.

"Yang's going to need you. She's, she's not doing so well, especially now that Blake's gone. You'll probably be upset about that too. I get why she ran though, the White Fang was a huge part of this, and she was one of them once."

Weiss sighed, resting her head in her hands.

"My father would have a fit if he knew I made friends with a faunus, and one who used to be part of the White Fang at that. But Blake's trustworthy, and she's a better person then she knows. She too quiet for my tastes, and she does tend to lord her ideologies over you, but you can say the same about me in that regard.

"I'm going to miss you guys. There's a saying, 'you don't know what you have until its gone.' I feel like that now. I didn't think leaving Beacon was an option. Shows what I know. Winter won't even be there to help me out."

Weiss stared at Ruby taking in the girl's face.

"I love her a lot, just in a different way from you and Yang. Things are different at my house. You would hate it. It's too quiet and too big and there are too many rules for you to even begin to remember. Father would kick you out the first day. You'd probably be one of those idiots who tries to give him a hug and gets arrested for it."

Weiss stood, still ranting under her breath.

"But that's just like you, isn't it? You always see the good in people. You're such an idiot. Dolt. You're going to miss have me around, aren't you? Good, you better miss me, because I kept my promise well enough. I was the best teammate you've ever had."

Weiss left shortly after that, once she had gotten rid of the tears in her eyes.

She had a lot to pack after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what happens when I start wondering what happened in between Cinders defeat and when Ruby wakes up in patch.
> 
> Also, I almost put the title as farwell, then fairwell, instead of farewell at first.


	46. Fish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruby- "She does like tuna a lot."

If there was one thing Yang had learned about her teammates, it was that fish never lasted long. Beacon let them have a small refrigerator and kitchen area, but no matter how she tried to hide it, whenever she bought fish or cooked some it was gone within the next day.

The most confusing part? Yang had absolutely no clue who was taking it. Ruby wasn't an option, she hated seafood of any kind. Weiss didn't seem likely, but that only left Blake, who also didn't seem like a person who would crave fish.

But Yang was determined, because she was going to get a chance to eat her own fish for once. Standing beside the refrigerator that had her precious cargo inside, Yang swore that she would find the culprit. It wasn't that she was mad about losing the actual fish, but it was annoying having food clearly labeled as hers disappearing without an explanation. Especially since it was only ever the fish.

It would also serve for a good laugh once she finally caught the culprit anyways. Yang kind of hoped it was Weiss, just so she could have something against the girl, because besides for her bad attitude, the girl had to have some other flaws, right?

Either way, Yang's plan remained undiscovered throughout the day, although Ruby gave her some knowing looks, Yang knew that her younger sister didn't have any evidence.

Her plan was pretty simple, pretend that she was sleeping and wait for the thief to make their appearance.

It worked too, until Yang closed her eyes a little too long.

Yang awoke to the quiet shuffle of the bed below her. Groggily, she leaned over the edge, her eyes narrowing in confusion as she saw a familiar figure slip into the kitchen.

Yang waits until she heard the telltale swoosh of the fridge doors before getting down from her bed as quietly as possible. Tiptoeing her way to the kitchen, she fingered the wall blindly for the light switch.

She found it, and with a flick of her hand, the kitchen is flooded with light, revealing an unabashed Blake eating the leftover fish.

"Sorry." Blake shrugged, at least having the dignity to look regretful at being caught. "I was hungry."

Oh, this kind of info was going to last Yang a long time, she could already tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably not going to update anything over the weekend thanks to Irma, depending on how badly we get hit. Most likely my powers going to be down starting Saturday until who knows when. I should be safe though, since I'm pretty far inland.


	47. Thunder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! But without the dramatics, me and my family were lucky enough to be missed by the strongest parts of Irma. We only got tropical storm conditions here. The west coast isn't doing so well though, and the Keys and most other islands that were hit are basically destroyed. If you can, I would definite donate to any rescue groups that you can, as long as you know the money will actually go towards the cause of course. 
> 
> The inspiration for this chapter is rather obvious, but I figured I might as well write about something I was experiencing. I'm not afraid of thunder, but my dog is, and I feel sad when he gets freaked out.

The rain slammed against the roof, echoing throughout their rooms. Outside, the wind roared, and Blake swore she could even feel the building shake with some of the stronger gusts.

That wasn't what she minded though, not really. The wind and the rain were almost calming to her. She could close her eyes and imagine her thoughts sliding away with the downpour.

Then light flashed outside the window, and Blake can't help but jump and the earth-shattering sound that follows it.

She hated thunder.

It was loud, it was sudden, and with her cat features, the sound of it was only made harsher. If she was being honest, it was a pretty stupid fear to keep with her, especially for someone nearing adulthood. She had never been able to shake it though, no matter what she tried. Instead, she had tried to find ways to deal with its aftereffects.

One of her methods was to flatten the strands of hair that decide to stick up rebelliously whenever she was spooked. Another was to fiddle around with the fabric of her pajama sleeve to try and distract her frazzled mind.

As of now, she didn't know what time it was, but the pitch black of the world outside gave her a small clue. She wasn't going to head back to sleep anytime soon though, not with the off chance of thunder ringing through her ears at any moment.

"Blake?" Blake had to stop herself from groaning when Weiss' quiet, but still cold, voice called out.

With only a sigh, a feat that Blake was oddly proud of, Blake said back, "Yes?"

"Why are you even up?" Weiss already sounded accusatory, and it they hadn't even gotten further than a few seconds of conversation.

"Thunder." Blake muttered in lieu of and actual explanation. She hoped Weiss would just scoff and go back to sleep, because she'd rather not tell a Schnee one of her most idiotic and yet strongest fears.

"Then why aren't you under your blanket?" Weiss asked, surprising Blake enough to look at the heiress from across the room. "Everyone knows that it helps with thunder, idiot. It's not even that hard."

Blake was silent as she listened to the shuffle of Weiss drawing her blanket up and shifting slightly.

"How-"

"Experience." Weiss snapped before Blake could finish, and some of the gratitude for the advice drains away, although Blake did have to give Weiss credit for being an accurate guesser. Blake didn't bother to push Weiss for more, the girl's tone clearly suggesting it wasn't something that she wanted to be asked about.

Blake grabbed a fistful of her blanket to tug it over herself, not stopping until she was essentially cocooned inside the thick fabric. Then she waited, with bated breath, to see if Weiss had been honest.

It came, eventually, but Blake is pleasantly surprised when the sound doesn't cause her to jump like it had before. The blanket was warm, it felt safe, and it muffled noises slightly.

This was so much better than before, Blake decided as she brought her pillow into her cocoon. She just might be able to sleep now. She would have to thank Weiss- well, she wouldn't go that far, but she could definitely afford to be a little less snappy for the next few days in return, even if Weiss brought it on herself most the time.


	48. Winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short little piece on Winter, because I adore her. If you didn't guess that from the title, I mean, it was pretty obvious.

Winter sighed, waving the robot sentries assigned to her with a muttered, "You're dismissed."

Today had been a long day, after dealing with Qrow, then with finding out how to track down the members of the White Fang that had to be stationed here at Beacon, and then with wrapping her head around the incredibly fast paced tour. Winter doesn't know how Weiss had accustomed herself to people who were so disorganized. Sure, maybe after years in the top branches of the military, her standards were a bit abnormal, but order had always been a cornerstone of her and Weiss' life, and she can't imagine her younger sister simply enjoying a life without it. Winter despised it when things didn't go according to the plan, a trait she knew Weiss shared.

Still though, Weiss hadn't asked to come home before now, so Winter supposed it couldn't be too bad. Not that much could compare to life at the Schnee estate. At least the gardens were calming.

The rooms Ironwood arranged for her were nice, certainly more dressed up than the plain bunkers she was used to. Simplicity and minimalism was another thing that Winter enjoyed, although she didn't think Weiss shared those exact views. Her military uniform did have a certain flair to it, but a part of that was instilling discipline into the lower ranks, something that was much easier to do if you distinguished yourself from them. That lesson had taken a few months for her to learn.

Still as she unpacked her few belongings, she smiled when an old picture falls out of the front packet of her duffel bag. Picking it up gingerly, she traced the edge of it fondly.

It was an old photograph of her and Weiss as children. Weiss was happy and smiling, proudly showing the camera a flower she had picked from the estate gardens even after being told multiple times not too. Her rebellious streak had started young. Winter herself is in the background, reading a book on what Winter assumed was tactics. Winter had always been a bit of a bookworm.

The bright smile on Weiss' face was a welcome sight though, untainted and pure.

Winter set it on the small table next to the bed, where she would be able to see it every time she got in or out of bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly though, I can see Winter as one of those people who eats the heels of bread without complaint. She's probably really cheap, even coming from a rich family. Only replaces her clothes when they are absolutely unwearable, etc.


	49. Old Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Qrow stops by to talk to Tai, it goes about as well as expected.

Qrow was honestly surprised that Tai didn't shut the door in his face as soon as it was opened. Their relationship was… strained, to put it nicely. In reality it had been in flames for a near decade.

"Qrow." Tai's greeting was courteous enough, but it didn't take him long to sigh and growl out, "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I just be here to check up on my nieces?" Crow shot back, taking a sip of his drink. He had long forgotten what concoction it was, but what it was didn't exactly matter to him, as long as it did its job it was fine by him.

"Things are never simple with you." Tai accused, but opened the door wider anyways. As Qrow strolled inside, Tai warned him, "Don't be loud, both of them are sleeping."

"Has Rubes…" Qrow trailed off, taking another sip. He may not like Tai all that much, but Qrow knew how sensitive the guy was when it concerned his family.

"No." Tai sighed again, lines of worry etched into his skin. "But it should be any day now."

"Good." Qrow grunted, taking a seat on the couch. He still caught Tai's muttering though, and scowled.

"No thanks to you."

"That's how you're gonna play it Tai?" Qrow asked, eyeing the man with scorn.

"Yeah, that is how I'm going to play it. You were at the school, the least you could have done was keep them safe." Tai kept his voice under control, a mighty feat for someone as emotional as him.

"Really? While there was an entire city under attack." Qrow snorted. "Nice to know that my priorities weren't in check."

"That is not the point here-" Tai seethed, but Qrow was quick to cut him off.

"Then what is the point? It's not sunshine and rainbows out there. They were going to have to fight like this eventually." Qrow smirked. "They took pretty ok care of themselves, considering the situation."

"Ok? You can't seriously be suggesting- I- just get out."

"What?" Qrow rose to his feet, his voice rising slightly with it.

"Get out." Tai repeated, his hands clenched into fists. "We're not doing this now. Not with the girls upstairs."

Qrow waited, trying to see if Tai would change his mind, but the man had always been stubborn, and all Qrow is given is a hand gesturing to the door.

"Fine." Qrow snapped. He wasn't in the mood to deal with this right now. He had enough on his plate as it was. "Tell me when she wakes up."

Qrow only heard a bitter chuckle as he walked out, showing just how likely that was.

But it wasn't like Tai was going to be keeping an eye on any birds that came by, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Qrow is a very hard character to write when your rating is general and you don't want to change it.


	50. Ozpin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for skipping Saturday, but I just got hit with a massive lack of motivation. I just, couldn't write anything, even when I had ideas. Thankfully, it finally seems to be passing, so I should be back to normal in the next couple days. 
> 
> Anyways, I decided to do this chapter on Ozpin, because I love him. And he makes for a great 50th chapter! I can't even believe I made it this far to be honest. 
> 
> I'm getting lazier with the chapter titles, can you tell?

Ozpin was a teacher. Of the thousands of students that have passed through his school over the years, he had taken the time to guide all of them at some point. To see how they lived, how they fought, how they developed, how they grew.

It was only his duty. Or rather, it was more than a simple duty by this point, it was a moral obligation. He tried his hardest to ensure that every student left here on their best footing. It gave him joy to help them, although maybe it was just his twisted way of trying to give back all that he had taken from them.

Their freedom; they would always be in service to the people as huntsmen. Their sense of normalcy; they would never be able to come back once they had completed their years here at Beacon. Their security; very few of his students lived another day without looking over their shoulders. Their safety; grimm and criminals alike, all of them were out for a huntsmen's blood. He took it all. And no matter how many times he heard people reassure them that they had chosen this for themselves, he had to wonder if they ever really knew what they were getting into.

None of them did, not in his mind. Then again, he's lived a thousand lifetimes, and he still didn't know what he had gotten himself into.

Ozpin was an observer. More than anything, he would stand in the background, coffee in hand, and simply watch the world go by. Marking down details with meticulous precision. How one girl reacted to a joke compared to another, how interest vary so drastically from people of the same background.

Ozpin took in every detail, recorded it, and stocked it in his mind just in case. Sometimes it served him well, other times it was proven to be useless. That never managed to deter his habit though.

So, he continued to watch, even as he could see the city start to crumble before his eyes.

Ozpin was a planner. Millenniums of experience made analysis as easy as breathing. It was second nature at this point. So sadly, the minute Pyrrha showed back up at the school, his first instinct was how could he use her.

He hated his mind sometimes. The way he could look at people like they were chess pieces, shove down emotions like they were nothing but air, discard attachments when the situation called for it. He hated it, but there was no changing it. He's tried.

Ozpin was arrogant. He thought this could last. That he could just miraculously hold Salem at bay long enough for Ruby to develop fully. That he could hold shut the cage filled with vile, hissing serpents while his hands were already withering away.

He thought that Salem had been weakened enough to kill all those years ago. And in the process, he left two girls without a mother, Tai Yang without a wife, and Qrow without a friend. He still remembered his last words to Summer Rose. Some curt, vague warning about the mission she had accepted.

He was stupid. So very, very stupid.

Ozpin had too many regrets to name. He's let down too many people to count by this point. Whether it's in this lifetime, the next one along, or the third one back. It was all just a cycle, one that he would never be able to escape, not while he still had ends to tie up here.

He saw Cinder's final, obliterating move minutes before it ever happened. But Ozpin has long learned that twisting absolute fate is a useless venture. His life was too far gone to save, but his next life was out there somewhere. It was some poor, unsuspecting child, who was about to have the weight of all of Remnant placed on their shoulders.

Maybe they could finally end this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, I am a firm believer in the theory that Ozpin can manipulate time. It's not to a great degree, but it can five him visions of events a few minutes before they happen. Depending on the vision, Ozpin has a chance to change the future. Some futures are unavoidable though. Also I lowkey like the idea of Ozpin have a photographic memory. It just adds to his suffering because now he has the collective memories of who knows how many past lives.


	51. Parallels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted a chapter comparing the past and present Blake, so this was born. All the italics are from the past conversation.

Blake had never been good with children. So why on remnant did fate lead her to this? Now she's stuck awkwardly holding a girl, one who couldn't be older than seven, as the girl cried her eyes out on Blake's shoulder.

Blake shouldn't stay here, she had to get as far away from the city as she could, before Weiss or someone else noticed she had ever left at all.

"Mommy…" The girl sniffled, her tiger tail curling up sadly around her feet. "…Daddy. Where are they? I want to see them."

Blake was unwillingly reminded of a time so many year ago, a time so different if felt like another life, after a raid on their base by Schnee hired mercenaries. Adam had left her behind to deal with an orphaned boy, one with tiny deer antlers. Maybe she could apply that to the girl she has now?

"Your parents were taken by some very bad people."

_"Your parents are gone, they were taken away by bad people."_

"Who took them?" The girl demanded through her tears.

_"Who did it! Who would take them? They were good people."_

"The grimm, you know how bad the grimm are, right?" The girl nodded, and Blake continued. "But the grimm were brought here by the White Fang. The White Fang has scary people in it. Those people only want to hurt others. Understand?"

_"It was humans. Evil, evil humans who don't like faunus. They took your parents because they were afraid of what they could do. Most humans can't be trusted, especially the Schnee family, because they hate faunus the most. Understand?"_

The girl shakes her head, her tail lashing back and forth. "But why?"

_"No. Why did the Schnee's take them? They didn't do anything wrong."_

Blake set the girl down, looking into her eyes. "Because the White Fang don't care about anybody that isn't bad like them. The huntsmen can protect you from them though, if you trust them."

_"Because they don't care about faunus, along with almost every other human. We're going to change that though. One day the White Fang is going to make it so that there aren't any more Schnee's on remnant. The White Fang is going to protect all faunus, and make the world safer._

"What about mommy and daddy? Will they be safe?" The girl asked, her tears replaced with hope, a hope that Blake is about to crush with a mere sentence.

_"What about my parents? Can the White Fang protect them?"_

"They're already gone, but they wanted you to be safe. Can you be safe for them?" Blake said, and the girl gave a hesitant nod.

_"Your parents are already gone, but they wanted you to be strong. Can you be strong for them?"_

_"I'm going to be stronger than any human!"_

_"You'll make a good Fang member someday."_

"I don't want to make them sad." The girl whispered, and Blake offered her arms once again. The girl ran readily to her, and Blake rearranged her so that she could carry the girl piggyback.

"You won't. I'm sure your parents are already proud of you."

As Blake took to the rooftops, girl in hand as she searched for the nearest survivor station to drop the girl off at, she wondered what became of that boy all those years ago. Was he a part of the White Fang now? Did he even remember her?

Blake hoped he didn't, that he had seen the White Fang for what they were and left to live a peaceful life.

Somehow though, she didn't think that was the case.


	52. The Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June grieves, then gets something unexpected. This one is a little shorter than I would have liked, but I was running out of time.

Jaune sighed, unclenching his fist. It had been doing that recently, often with him not noticing it until his hand was stinging as his muscles screamed for air. Like he had any right to complain about small things like that.

 

He could here Amy shouting gleefully in the room over, the sound accompanied by a plethora of giggles from Jaune's other sisters. It was strange to be back in such a cramped house, especially with Ren and Nora included, after spending so much time in a dorm room with just three other people.

 

"Keep it down girls!" His dad shouted, the racket dying immediately. It only lasted a second though, before Sidney shrieked in laughter.

 

Jaune could hear Nora's laughter mix in with his sisters' and he smiles. The smile didn't stay long though, not with the autumn leaves twirling their way around him.

 

He felt like an idiot, coming out to a place that would only remind him of her. The feeling wasn't anything new, but that didn't stop the ache, the hole in his chest he doesn't think will ever be filled.

 

His tears were spent though, so now he was left floundering, trying to find out what someone was supposed to do afterwards.

 

Ren and Nora were a comfort, because neither of them were people who shared their grief, Jaune knew they were all together in this. All of them had been hit hard by Pyrrha's… loss.

 

He still remembered their disastrous group talk session that had been timidly suggested by Jaune's parents. All of them had ended up a mess of tears and apologies, even Ren. Pyrrha was family to them, nothing could deny that.

 

One particularly brave maple leaf took the opportunity to float down by his feet. Idly, Jaune reached out to trace the edges, recalling green eyes and patient smile. His foot was crushing the leaf and sending it scattering in the winds before he knew what he was doing. He had a feeling that if Beacon was still around, this is the kind of thing he might be sent to the school therapist for.

 

"Jaune?" Ren's voice started Jaune, and he gave an undignified grunt as he fell to the floor. Nora helped him up with a giggle and a pat on the back that was a little harder than it needed to be.

 

"What?" Jaune zeroed in on the envelope resting in Ren's hand. Jaune didn't get mail now, with the CCT still down, none of them did really. The last letters June had gotten had been from the- the- the- N-Nikos'. Those letters were something he didn't want to think about right now.

 

"We got a letter!" Nora snatched the letter from Ren's hands and presented it to Jaune proudly.

 

"Ruby?"

 

Ren nodded in time to Jaune's question. "It is addressed to all of us."

 

Jaune looked at Ren and Nora, who sat down beside him in the dirt.

 

With careful, trembling fingers, Jaune opened the letter.

 


	53. Night Comforts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the late chapter but life has been hitting me like a train. There is so much with school and now there's a chance my dog might be put down on Saturday. It's just been a lot. 
> 
> Although now my new favorite headcanon is that Zwei is a therapy dog trained by Summer. Does it make sense time wise? No, but since when does logic matter on Remnant?
> 
> Not going to lie though, this is also written in honor of my dog CJ. He's much to big to be a lap dog, but he would if he could. He is just literally the best companion a person can have. I pray he isn't as badly injured as we think he is.

Yang woke up with a scream dying in her throat. Her sheets were damp with sweat, as was her skin. She moved to wipe her forehead, only to realize that the arm she had tried to lift wasn't quite there anymore. With a sigh, she raised her other arm to wipe the thin layer of liquid off her face.

She didn't remember what exactly she had been dreaming about. It was all just a blur of swords and shadows, screams and whimpers rising and fading in darkness. Still, Yang couldn't quite calm the panic rushing through her veins. Her blankets felt like an iron clad trap. Too close and too suffocating for her to breathe right.

Yang leapt from bed, clawing her blankets off. Her nightgown was old, a little too small and thin to completely block out the night chills. Yang shivered, but decided that the bite in the air was better than going back to sleep right now.

As she walked out to the living room though, the sleeve of her nightgown fell, the strap slipping past the stump of her arm. Rolling her eyes, Yang shoved it back onto her shoulder. Just another annoyance she had to deal with. The list was steadily growing as Yang became more active.

She didn't go into the fridge, knowing that it would only bring Zwei, dad on his heels. And the last thing Yang wanted right now was some cheesy pep talk. Yang appreciated what her dad was trying to do, but he wasn't the one missing an arm. Instead, Yang plopped down onto the couch, bringing her knees up to her chest.

The winter temperatures didn't suddenly vanish, but Yang's shivers died down as she got more accustomed and more awake. She almost felt okay again, then something howled in the distance, and the overwhelming fear was back. She could barely breathe, more gasping for air than anything else. Her hands scratched uselessly at the couch cushions, trying in vain to find something to grip onto. Her vision clouded over, narrowing until only the tiniest glimmer of light is visible. There was a rushing sound by her ears. It was only too reminiscent of Adam's sword.

There was nothing here. There were no grimm that live nearby. There were no bandit gangs on Patch. There was no White Fang. No Adam.

But no Ruby. No Beacon. No team. No friends.

Something warm and soft settled in her lap, and Yang's first instinct is to try and chuck it across the room. But before she could, a soft tongue lapped at her face, and she distantly recognized the thing for what it really was, Zwei.

Yang still couldn't breathe right, and Zwei wasn't helping in that regards, but her hands had something to work with now. Yang threaded her hands in and out of Zwei's fur, a bit of the blackness once blocking her vision creeping back.

Yang didn't know how long Zwei sat with her, just pliant warmth and comfort in her arms. She only knew that he waited by her side until the terror was long gone, and only exhaustion remained.

All Yang knew before sleep took over her again was the warm comfort of Zwei's fur as he snuggled close to her.

When Tai came out a few moments later, he stopped his worry as he took in Yang's curled form. She was laying on the couch, Zwei tucked into her chest.

Zwei perked up when he saw Tai, but Tai waved his hand. "Just stay there boy. She needs you more than I do."

Zwei laid his head down, and Tai smiled. It didn't take much detective work to guess what had happened, Yang's frazzled hair and position told him everything he needed to know. Still drowsy himself, Tai absentmindedly grabbed a spare blanket and draped it over Yang and Zwei. Before going back to his room, Tai made one last comment.

"Summer trained you well, didn't she Zwei?"


	54. Discord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is quick and messy but it's something I really wanted to see in volume 4. Then we just sort of skipped over those first few months of RNJR travelling. Its impossible for them to have not fought, you know? 
> 
> On the bright side, we didn't have to put my dog down so I am much happier :D

"Ruby! Why didn't you move out of the way? I nearly killed you!" Nora seethed, the fear as her hammer had swung a few millimeters away from Ruby's head still raging strong.

Ruby signed quickly and frantically, the ashes of the last beowolf dissolving behind her.

"She forgot that we can't understand her signals like her team can. She thought you knew she was going after it." Ren acted as a translator, to Ruby's relief.

"Isn't Jaune the one who comes up with the plans though?"

"Nora, it's okay." Jaune cut in, sliding his sword back into his sheath as he walked to join the rest of the group.

"No, it's not. How are we going to survive if we don't even know who's in charge?" Nora ran her hands through her hair, scratching her scalp.

Ruby stood silent, her head lowered and fingers clenched tight around the fabric of her cloak. Jaune put a hand on her shoulder, and he could feel her trembling under his fingers.

"Nora… don't do this." Ren reached a hand out, but Nora shied away from it, her eyes dark.

"Why not?" Tears pricked at the edge of Nora's eyes, and her arms were crossed, hugging her chest. "If she had just- she was there, she was right there and she couldn't- she didn't…"

Nora's voice dropped so low the other three had to lean closer to hear it, but her words rang with just as much severity. "I don't know why Pyrrha isn't here instead."

With that, Nora turned and stalked off. Ren gave Jaune a desperate look, and Jaune nodded, letting Ren chase after her.

Once it was only him and Ruby though, Ruby tore herself out his grip and sped up the nearest tree.

"Ruby, what Nora said- none of us think that. What Cinder did isn't anybody's fault but Cinder's." Jaune sighed. "None of us want to accept that Pyrrha is… is gone, even after all this time."

Jaune didn't get an answer- not that he was expecting a verbal response, but Ruby didn't even move her head in response.

"Look, if you want to talk about anything, I'll be here." Jaune ensured that Ruby knew at least that before moving to gather any supplies that may have slipped from their packs during the fight. He won't intrude if Ruby didn't want him to, but he was also determined to make sure Ruby didn't feel responsible. There was nothing she could have done, and they all knew that, even Nora.

But until Ruby decided to open up, or until Ren brought Nora back in a more lucid state, things would move nowhere.

Jaune might as well try and make himself useful for the time being.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nora does eventually go apologize, and they mostly resolve the tensions in their group. Mostly ;)


	55. Resonance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Schedule? What schedule? But seriously I hate school right now >:( 
> 
> On the bright side, this is a continuation to the last chapter, and there will be one more chapter to end this miniature arc.

Nora hated this. Hated feeling like this.

She was storming out into the woods, ignoring the obvious danger of grimm attacking her while she was like this. She had to get away though, away from the batch of snakes she had just released into their little group.

It wasn't a problem until they had joined up with Ruby, and even then, it hadn't started immediately. It was small things; a flash of something dark and storming every time Ruby caught her eye, a pinprick of bitterness when she saw Ruby signing to Ren or Jaune, a smudge of resentment every time she woke up expecting Pyrrha to be with them and finding Ruby instead.

Ruby didn't deserve this. It was wrong. Nora was wrong. That didn't change anything though.

She tried, she tried to logic away the feelings. Reason away the bitterness because Pyrrha wasn't here but Ruby was and, and, and just-

Nora stopped, slamming her fist once, twice into the nearest tree. Not like that helped her either. She knew by now that reasoning emotions away is a useless effort.

"Nora."

Well, speak of the devil, and he'll appear.

"Ren." Nora shot back, flinching at her scathing tone. She kept her back turned to him though, her fist coming down to clench her skirt.

"Nora, what's wrong? You can tell me." Nora could hear and feel him inch closer, but he respected her boundaries, hovering just on the edge of her personal bubble.

"Everything's wrong! Nothing makes sense anymore." More tears were streaming down her face now, thick and wet. "Why can't Pyrrha just be with us?"

"Instead of Ruby?" Ren asked quietly, as if he was waiting for her to break. Nora felt pretty close to shattering anyways.

"Of course not! Who do you think I am?" Nora fell to her knees, her hands tearing out chunks of grass within their reach.

"You're only 18. You're a huntress in training. You're a kind person, but you're hurting. All of us are." Ren sat beside her, just out of reach.

"Pyrrha and I used to talk a lot, you know. About boys, school, training. Anything really. She would always end up talking about Jaune though." A shaky smile made its way across her face at the thought, only for it to crumble when the weight of reality came crashing down once more. "All- all she did was talk about how much better he was getting, or something funny that he did, or how endearing he was, or how sweet he was. It was always about him- and she never even got to-"

Nora broke down, burying her head in her knees, sobs wracking her body. Ren took this as permission to reach across the careful boundaries he had made to put a comforting hand in between her shoulder blades, rubbing soothing circles through the fabric of her shirt.

"Pyrrha was- words can't really describe her- but she was incredible." Ren breathed in deep, searching for what to say next. "She didn- she didn't deserve it, she could never deserve anything like that. But, but even- she wouldn't want us to blame the innocent."

"I know." Nora whispered through the tears. "I know but…"

"I can understand your resentment though." Ren muttered. "I held a grudge against huntsmen after- after Kuroyuri. I was mad about what happened, and took it out on whatever I could."

"I never noticed." Nora admitted quietly.

"I've always been good at keeping a straight face." Ren teased gently. "But after a time, I finally realized that the huntsmen weren't responsible for the grimm. The huntsmen didn't destroy our home. That thing did."

The vehemence scorching Ren's tongue was a surprise to Nora, although it had been years since either of them had talked about their past, so she was probably more surprised because it had been so long more than anything.

"I'm trying." Nora blurted out. "I'm trying to not be angry. But I can't, no matter how hard I try."

"You're a kind person." Ren said without hesitation. "Talking with one another about Pyrrha might help resolve this. After an apology."

Nora sniffled, her eyes spent. "I know. I just- she's going to hate me after what I said to her."

"This is Ruby, as far as we know she can't hate anyone, not really." Ren reminded her. "Besides, letting this lie will only hurt us more, even if it isn't a subject I want to talk about."

"Give me a minute." Nora asked, unwrapping her arms from around her knees to try and get the blood flowing to her legs again.

"Sure. As long as you do go and apologize." Ren assured her, leaning back on his hands.

"Duh." Nora giggles, hiding her disappointment of losing contact with Ren.

"I suppose this is what Jaune's mom meant by 'you kids can't keep running from your feelings,' isn't it?"

"Yeah." Nora sighs. "I guess."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In better news, well maybe worse depending on how much you like angst, but I have two major chapters planned out for later that I feel like talking about :D Tiny spoilers ahead so don't read if you don't want any.
> 
> The first is the one where Nora finally has to come to terms with her feelings for Ren. This will probably be set around the events of the volume 4 finale, so it won't be for a while. I can build up to it though ;)
> 
> The second is a chapter cataloging Pyrrha's life through her eyes. I love doing character studies, and I realized that I never did anything for Pyrrha and I'm just like "How did I miss that?"


	56. Harmony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion. 
> 
> But in other news I have just abandoned my schedule. I'll update twice a week, but the days will change depending on how busy I am. Probably they'll end up being on the weekend more than anything but I can hope. Sorry about the inconvenience.

In all honesty, Ren should had seen this coming. He knew Nora, all her tells and habits. Something had been bothering her, but she had been so subtle about it Ren hadn't been able to discover what it was until Nora had let it all out.

He felt like a fool, but the past wasn't made to dwell on. All Ren could do now was somehow try to fix things.

He wouldn't push though, he was not going to be as arrogant as to think he could force Nora to apologize and that would fix everything. At least Nora understood that Ruby deserved an apology, but then again, Ren knew she would. So instead, Ren came back to their temporary camp, Nora in tow, and simply waited for things to play out.

They mostly sat in thick silence for the rest of the afternoon though, and Ren was surprised they somehow hadn't brought a swarm of grimm on their heads by this point. Jaune was trying to keep some semblance of normalcy, talking awkwardly with the three of them individually. Ruby stayed perched in the small tree she had found, while Nora was stuck staring at the ground, unnaturally quiet.

At one point, Ren had gone over to Ruby, muttering, "If you want to talk, I'll translate."

Ruby just smiled down at him, gratitude shining in her eyes.

Nora was the one that made the first move, something that Ren is proud of.

"Guys." She called out once the sun had long set beneath the horizon. Their fire outlines the determined, if trembling outline of her face. "We need to talk, please."

Jaune came over immediately from where he had been standing by Ruby. Ruby followed, although she more shuffled over than anything, shoulders hunched. Ren gave her a nod, trying to show that he would stand by his earlier statement.

"I'm sorry." Nora says, staring resolutely at Ruby. "All the stuff I said to you, it wasn't cool. I'm just… angry, at everything really, but I took it all out on you and that isn't fair. Still friends?"

Ruby stared at Nora's outstretched hand reaching over the flames, her hands make garbled bits of words, and her mouth was opening and closing as she as if she was trying desperately to force words out of her throat. Something vaguely resembling words came out, but the moment Ruby seemed to realize that they all could hear her, her mouth slams shut once more.

"My fault. It is my fault." Ren translated Ruby's shaky signing, watching as both Jaune and Nora's faces twisted to reflect the horror he was feeling.

"Ruby, Pyrrha- Pyrrha made her own choices that night. Her d- what happened to her isn't anybody's fault." Jaune immediately said, but Ruby shied away from his words, shaking her head.

"Penny. Pyrrha. My fault." Ren duitifully translated, despising what he was saying about as much as he despised that Ruby was the one saying it.

"What happened? At the fall of Beacon?" Nora asked suddenly, her hand coming back to rest on her lap. "You never told us your side of things, and I get that, but I think we need to know."

Ruby froze, a myriad of emotions flashing over her face all at once. They come to a head when Ruby closed her eyes, tensing, only to slump down once more. Painfully slow, she nodded, opening her eyes to look at Ren one last time.

"It's okay if you don't want to." Ren reassured her. "But it might help clear the air a little bit."

Ruby gave a tiny sigh, nodding in agreement.

Ren both appreciated and despised his naturally stoic face as Ruby told her tale. He wished he could put as much emotion into his words as Ruby was putting into her signing, but expression was never his forte. At the same time though, that fact was the only thing keeping him able to tell Ruby's story as she delved deeper.

By the last word, even Ren was shaking. Jaune and Nora were trying in vain to keep back tears. Ruby was sobbing openly, wiping her hands on her cheeks continuously to try and erase the stains they left behind.

It didn't take long for Nora to lunge forward, tackling Ruby in a hug that Jaune and Ren soon joined.

Nora was blabbering out a broken string of apologies, Jaune was doing something similar, but with condolences instead. Ren kept quiet, but made sure that one of his hands was resting on Ruby's shoulder, reminding her that he was still there.

"It's not your fault Ruby." Nora stated after her voice had fully returned. "Penny. Pyrrha. Any of it." When Ruby tried to shake her head once more, Nora was the one to stop her. "I'm serious. You were the only one to even figure Mercury and Emerald out before the match and you tried to do something about it. It sucks now, but the only thing we can really do is keep getting stronger so that we don't lose anyone else. I don't care who we go up against, but I won't stop until all the jerks behind the attack are beaten into a bloody pulp. Deal?"

Ruby took Nora's hand this time, a miniscule grin on her face.

"We can do that together though. As a team." Jaune added, smiling even though his eyes were still red.

Ren nodded, relieved to see that things were resolved at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imagine if none of them knew sign language though


	57. The Old Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There should be another chapter out tomorrow, maybe two if I can manage it :D

"Whitley!" Weiss squawked, feeling a hand tug on her hair. "Get back here."

"Catch me if you can." The fading cry as Whitley rounded the nearest corner was all Weiss got in reply. With a growl, she gave chase. No one was going to pull her hair and get away with it, especially not her annoying little brother.

Whitley is fast for a five-year old, Weiss can give him that, but she's eight- almost nine- and her legs were much longer than his. It only took another three or so corners before Weiss could see him. The sight added speed to her sprint, and just a few moments later she had tackled him.

Her hands dug ruthlessly into his sides, startling him into peals of laughter.

"Weiss. Weiss- stop it!" Whitely howled, trying in vain to keep her hands off him. Their tickling matches had no mercy though, so Weiss continued regardless of Whitley's cries.

By the time Weiss decided she was finally done, Whitley was little more than a ball of breathless giggles. Weiss flopped beside him, a smug grin stretched across her face.

"I win."

"…No fair." Whitley huffed, half-heartedly smacking her shoulder.

Weiss, suddenly remembering what had started this, petulantly tugging Whitley's considerablely shorter hair.

"Ow!" Whitley glared at her, rubbing the top of his head. "That hurt."

"Good." Weiss grunted, pushing herself up into a sitting position.

"Weiss. Whitley. What in heaven's blazes is going on here?" Weiss froze at the sound of their father's voice jumping to her feet on instinct. Whitley was quick to follow, already used to the expectations in their household.

"Sorry father." Weiss said, Whitley echoing her.

"I don't want apologies. I want an explanation." Their father was standing in front of them now, glaring down at them.

"It was my fault." Whitley spoke up first, to Weiss's surprise. "I pulled her hair."

"So? That should not have led to something as disgraceful as this." Their father dismissed Whitley, turning to Weiss instead. "I'll assume it was your actions that caused… this."

"It wasn't just me." Weiss tried to compromise, even if it did being Whitley down with her. More often than not, punishment was less if Whitely was somehow involved.

"Still, it was clearly your behavior that was the defining factor of this situation. You will accept your punishment with a Schnee's honor, you understand me?"

"Yes father." Weiss agreed, her shoulders slumping; one grunt from her father was enough to set them straight though.

"Whitley, you are free to do as you wish. I thought I saw your mother in the garden if you're interested." Their father said, clearly ordering Whitley to leave.

"Okay." Whitley ran off, whispering a quiet "Sorry" as he did.

"Now Weiss. We may as well conduct some extra studying."

"Yes father."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whitley and Weiss' relationship is really interesting to me from what little we've been shown. Whitley is a little brat now but he couldn't have always been that bad, at least I hope not.


	58. Forest Grump

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of a reason to vent than anything, and season 1 Weiss is the best character to do that with. I got stuck in a forest today and by the end of it I was very unhappy >:(
> 
> Also I lied last time about the chapter release, I thought I would have time before packing but then life decided to prove me wrong. Its tended to do that a lot lately.

"Blake?" Weiss hissed, crossing her arms and stopping just before what was yet again another fallen tree in their path. "Why won't you just suck it up and admit that we are lost?"

"We aren't lost." Blake countered, her eyes narrowing. "My senses don't lie. This is the right way."

"So explain to me why we haven't done anything but climb up a hill for the past hour." Weiss snapped. She had already been annoyed when this little "surprise project" was dropped over their heads, and now that the project was actually underway, that annoyance wasn't getting any better. At least Weiss could say with confidence that her annoyance had very little to do with Blake's status as a faunus- save for the part where her dumb nose was the whole reason they had strayed from the path in the first place.

"We need juniper berries and honey, I can smell the honey up this way. It's not my fault the mountain is big." Blake shrugged, and Weiss grumbles something incoherent before sighing.

With another sigh, Weiss started to climb once more. "I bet Ruby and Yang aren't going through all this."

"I can bet that those two won't have a chance at beating us." Blake commented with a sly glance in Weiss' direction. Weiss rolled her eyes, Blake thought she was so smart, using Weiss' competitiveness as a motivator. Forget that, Weiss already knew they were going to win this stupid project the moment Professor Port had said that they would be switching team partners. Blake was still a little rude for Weiss' taste, but at least she got things done quickly- which was unlike a certain team leader Weiss knew.

Honestly though, this was really a bother. Having to duck and weave through trees and scattered thorns, not to mention the steepness of the terrain, was just infuriating. Her father would be laughing at her if he could see her- not like she cared, but Winter would probably tell her just to push through it and endure it. That did not mean Weiss couldn't complain, whether it was to herself or out loud.

"It's close." Blake reassured her for what was the tenth time or more, and Weiss had to forcibly hold herself back from drawing Myrtenaster.

They had better get a perfect score for all this trouble.


	59. Meet Ups

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now you all can meet Mavis, who will never ever show up again. Writing Yang is fun though.

Yang nodded her head to the beat of the music that was being blasted. She was far too accustomed to the atmosphere of this club by now to be bothered by it. She wondered if maybe she was frequenting here more often than she should. That thought was quickly chased away when she finally found who she was looking for.

Mavis, the one guy in this place who ever had anything useful. Yang had even heard him talking about Uncle Qrow once, and that man was the epitome of secrecy.

He wasn't anything recognizable from a distance, with plain brown hair that extended down his neck. He had a familiar dark blue scarf wrapped loosely around his neck and shoulders. Besides for that, he was wearing a sweater and a pair of sweatpants. He didn't fit into the bar setting, but the moment you put him out on the street, he could blend into the crowd like no other.

Yang plopped down unceremoniously at the seat beside Mavis's, greeting him with a wave. "Hey."

"So," Mavis said, eyeing her with a smirk. "what are you looking for now?"

"Same thing as always." Yang sighed, leaning forward. "Anything on Raven Branwen?"

"If you consider air something, then yeah." Mavis gave an empty laugh. "That woman hasn't been in these parts for years. I don't think she's coming back anytime soon."

"Of course." Yang muttered, sure that Mavis could barely hear her over the pulsing sound. "But not like I can go that far when I'm still at Signal. Maybe Beacon will make this easier."

"Beacon?" Mavis scoffed, taking a sip of his drink. "That place is stuck tighter than the counsel's headquarters. You can have fun getting information from that place because I have learned my lesson about dealing with them."

Yang slammed her head against the table, groaning. "This can't be easy, can it?"

"For someone like Raven? It never is." Mavis nodded sagely, and Yang knew he was right. There wasn't a chance of Raven ever coming back by this point. Yang could keep looking- a task she thought was going to be easier if she got into Beacon. That was a dream crushed.

"Hey." Mavis said, nudging her arm. Yang rose her head to stare at him. "There's a guy that's been checking you out- black jacket and an undercut- he'll probably make a move when you get up."

Yang rolled her eyes, checking to make sure that her gauntlets were fully loaded. They were; she looked back to Mavis with a grin. "I would get out of here before I start setting stuff on fire."

"Can do." Mavis bid her goodbye with a nod, easily slipping through the crowd. Yang couldn't see where he went, but she trusted that he was already long gone.

Yang stood up, adjusting her jacket.

She was itching for a real fight anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The real question, how did Yang get in there?


	60. Glitter and Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is very long and very late. Honestly though I feel I should have gone more in depth with this but it was already more than a week so I didn't try and extend it further.
> 
> Side note the title doesn't relate all that much but I felt that it just suited Pyrrha as a whole.
> 
> But this is the 60th chapter!!!!! I never thought I would make this far at all, and most of that is due to the support I've gotten from all of you guys. It's incredibly really. There are almost 15,000 hits on this story and I'm still in shock. This was always just meant to be a little series I could fool around with and basically just project my different headcanons onto the characters, I never meant for it to get this long but I can't say I regret it. I know updates have been slow lately, and I'm not going to lie and say that part of that isn't because I've kind of lost sight for where I want this story to go as a whole. Still, I'm going to keep enjoying this as just a place to get my random thoughts and ideas about RWBY out there. 
> 
> Just, thank you all so much for reading this story and lasting this long!!!!!!

Pyrrha had always looked up to huntsman. Her parents were both retired Huntsmen, going on missions when it was absolutely necessary. But other than that, she could only ever remember them being there for her, helping her, correcting her stance when needed and shouting encouragement as she trained. They were her ideal, her goal. They were both a little older than the other parents Pyrrha knew, but they were hers, and they were amazing.

Her father taught her how to dodge, how to old a spear and shield. He was lithe and strong, bending and gliding at the smallest breeze. Pyrrha had nearly cried tears of joy the first time she ever managed to get a real hit on him during their training times.

He mother was a brutal combination of strength and speed. She taught Pyrrha how to hit someone where it counted. She let Pyrrha hit her as to show how to properly twist a weapon to get the most damage possible out of it.

Pyrrha always thought she took a little bit of both of them when it came to her fighting; took it, and made it her own. She could dodge and twist, but not with the same speed. Her blows were powerful, but quick, not decimating like her mother's.

Pyrrha also liked to think her personality followed the same lines, although she followed more after her father on it. She was always more serious than the other children, something her mother would often tease her father about. Still, Pyrrha was always ready to give a helping hand where needed, and ended up being well known around her school as the girl to turn to.

But if there was one thing that defined Pyrrha, it was her need to succeed. Her parents had expectations, never pushing them onto her too much, but the expectations were there regardless. Pyrrha really saw them the first time she brought back a bad grade. The downturn of her mother's lips, accompanied by a soft, slightly disappointed speech from her father, had been enough to convince her that failing wasn't worth it. So, she poured herself into her studies, her training too. She pushed herself further and further; until all she could see was her parent's approval.

Of course, she wasn't always with her parents, and as soon as she could she moved off to Sanctum academy. It was there that she learned that old habits die hard, and by that point she was too used to pushing herself to stop. She kept training, and training, and then studying, only to repeat the cycle again. It wasn't bad, certainly not when she ended up winning the Mistral regional tournament four years in a row, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something.

It came to her all of a sudden, when she had taken a moment to look at some of her classmates before class started instead of pouring over notes just in case. All of them were in little groups, talking to one another amicably.

Friends, she realized, that's what was making her feel empty. When was the last time she had ever called anyone her friend?

She helped students with tutoring, and was always ready to give a few combat tips. Nobody there ever talked to her more than necessary, and suddenly the loneliness was crushing her.

Half-way through the last year at Sanctum academy, Pyrrha tried to make friends. It went about as well as one would expect. No one would talk to her- at least, not in the way they talked to her other classmates. They danced around her careful questions, averting their eyes, or making excuses to leave as soon as possible. Pyrrha didn't understand it, not completely. Sure, she was well known for her accomplishments, but surely that didn't make her unapproachable as a person. Right?

Wrong. So very, very wrong. Pyrrha only found that out when she overheard two of her professors talking.

"Miss Nikos concerns me though."

"Why? She is exceptionally bright- she even won the Mistral Regional tournament for the fourth time this year."

"But what is that doing for her as a person? I haven't seen her interact closely with any of her peers."

"She talks to them on a regular basis. By this point I'm pretty sure half the school depends on her for homework help."

"But what about friends? Real friends? I've seen her in the classroom, everyone is too afraid to challenge her or go against her because of her rankings. She's practically a celebrity at this point, but she's only 17, I can't even imagine what that must be like."

Pyrrha had left after that, something in her stomach churning. That teacher had been right, and Pyrrha saw the evidence for it far too quickly after overhearing them.

Pyrrha had been building a gap, she realized, around herself. Starting so early on she couldn't even pinpoint the exact moment, she had constantly been pushing herself, driving herself, trying to be the best she could; now, she was too high up for anyone to dare try and reach, and all she wanted was to find a way down.

There was no ladder though, no set of stairs that could put her on the same level as her classmates saw each other. So Pyrrha stayed where she was, going back to priding in her accomplishments and helping where she could- shoving down the emptiness that came along with it.

Then Beacon came.

She and her parents had talked, mutually agreeing that if Pyrrha wanted to become a huntress, Beacon was the best place to go.

Beacon…Beacon was the best thing that had happened to Pyrrha. She had a team, she had friends. For the first time in years, there was no twinge of emptiness or longing, there was just Nora with her cheery outbursts, Ren with a small smile, and Jaune- well, Jaune was something else entirely. Pyrrha didn't think she had ever met anyone who was a fascinating as he was. He was in a program meant for people with ages of fighting experience, and unsurprisingly doing subpar, but he kept at it. That part of him reminded Pyrrha of herself, although he was a little more prideful than she was. However, Jaune didn't let that pride stop him in the end, and their training sessions quickly took on a life of their own.

Jaune could be slow at times, but once he got something down he never got it wrong again. His aura was like nothing Pyrrha had ever felt, raw and wild with potential. They may not be able to unlock a semblance, but that was fine. The time spent together was worth it and more. Jaune was the first person to treat her as Pyrrha, instead of what she had accomplished. He was straightforward and ignorant at times, but never as a way to hurt anyone.

Pyrrha fell slowly, but she fell hard.

Jaune was sweet, endearingly so. He put his best foot forward, even if it sometimes ended up in his mouth. It didn't matter the situation, nor what was expected, Jaune always found a way to break through it in his own unique way. The dance only solidified that in Pyrrha's mind, and only made her fall all that more.

But she was nothing but kind, and she could see that Jaune didn't share the same sentiments. Not with how he chased after Weiss. The only thing as a friend that she could do was put a hand on his shoulder- to little and yet too much contact all at once- and support him. She saw the looks that Nora and Blake- even Weiss, would send her way on occasion, but they weren't worth acknowledging. Nothing would come of her and Jaune and that was that.

Then Pyrrha's world is thrown on its axis time after time again. The grimm invasion, then the tournament, then the fall maiden, it all kept coming.

The former of them all was stressful, but manageable, especially when Jaune got to show off how much he had improved over the past months. The second one was all right, considering she had been through a similar process before, but she had never considered doing it as a team. Their first fight had been a stark difference from Pyrrha's expectations, in both a good and bad way. She would never say she was disappointed by it- none of her friends could truly do something to disappoint her, they were all too good for that- just surprised in a way.

But then Ozpin had called her to her office, and her whole world shifted. Maidens and magic and fairytales, Pyrrha could hardly grasp it at first, even after she had seen the evidence.

Her choice, accept the fall maiden status and leave her life behind, or pass it up and live knowing she could have helped more, done more for others.

It was so simple, yet so twisted.

Destiny to her had always been a goal. Her goal was to be a huntress, a hero, so that was the destiny she had worked towards. This was her once in a lifetime chance to skip years more of training and begin to help people now; and she couldn't convince herself to take it.

For once in her life, Pyrrha couldn't help but be selfish. Accepting that power would mean leaving behind everything she had made here at Beacon, her friends, her family, her normal life. And Jaune. It would rip her away from the one person she had come to love and adore.

Could she make the sacrifice? Would she continue the path to her destiny?

What even is her destiny anymore?

Pyrrha tried to stay honest with Jaune when he found her curled up in the courtyard, but she was sworn to secrecy, and Jaune never could be expected to understand her vague excuses and definitions.

But he told her to go for it though, to accept the power, but he didn't know what that meant, what that did to her, to him-

Before she knew it, she had slammed him against the nearest tree.

And she had ran, tears in her eyes. She had been a coward and just ran.

It was the only thing she could think to do.

Then the final fight had come crashing down on her. In a whirlwind of confusion and turmoil, Pyrrha had let herself run on mostly automatic. Until Penny's swords somehow gained the ability to multiply and all Pyrrha could register was the fear of her imminent defeat and probable death at Penny's swords.

So, she had pushed with all her might.

And what had she done?

She killed someone.

She killed someone.

Penny's insides weren't flesh and blood, just wires and chips, but that hadn't made her any less human. Pyrrha had known her, loosely, she knew that the girl was close to team RWBY.

And Pyrrha had just murdered her.

A huntress? A hero? What kind of hero murders an innocent in cold blood?

Pyrrha didn't register the voice broadcasting, nor the screams and cries as the crowd eventually panicked. There was only her; her and the person she had just murdered.

She only began to take in the rest of the world when Ruby's bright cloak had flung itself in front of her, a guttural cry of anguish and rage that Pyrrha could hardly believe came from Ruby's mouth snapping her out of it completely.

When the nevermore went down, Pyrrha almost felt like crying. Everyone was here- well, everyone who had already been there was still there, but they were there, they were standing with her even after- after…

Pyrrha shook off those thoughts, looking at Ruby instead. Ruby, who was wielding the sword of her friend simply because she had no other choice at the moment, who still had the strength to fight and stand.

And if Ruby could do that, then Pyrrha had no reason to stay down.

The subsequent fight afterwards is almost like a dream turned nightmare. She slashed and cut and dodged, but the hordes were never ending. Still, her team was by her side, and contentment rested in her chest as she followed Jaune's lead like second nature.

The CCT crumbled to the ground, and it was only then that Pyrrha remembered Ozpin and the fall maiden.

She gave one look to her team, her friends who were still fighting, and then another back to Beacon academy, where she knew the fall maiden lay.

She knew what she should do, and with one last glance at Jaune, a gaze that was met with an equally determined glance, she turned, running towards her destiny.

Jaune followed her, of course he followed her, he was loyal and compassionate like that, but Pyrrha couldn't explain things to him, not when they were running out of time.

Ozpin met them the moment Pyrrha set a foot inside the building. She didn't know how, a part of her didn't wish to know how he had known they were coming. Regardless, they didn't have time for that.

Jane kept asking questions, a bit of Pyrrha breaking each time he did. She had kept this from him, and now, when she accepted, she would be separated from him without even giving a warning.

What an amazing huntress she would make.

When they finally reach the vault, with Amber's comatose form in front of them, Pyrrha was so twisted inside she couldn't put a name to the feelings.

"Pyrrha, will you accept the Fall Maiden's power?" Ozpin was gazing at her, his eyes full of expectation and promise. The storm inside Pyrrha only grew under the weight of that stare.

"I- I-" Pyrrha didn't understand herself. She knew this was the only way she could help right know. She knew that without her, some evil attacker would end up with the Fall Maiden's powers, when she could do so much good with them. None of that could take her mind off what she would lose by taking on this responsibility. None of that could eliminate the fear and hesitation coursing through her veins.

Pyrrha took a deep breath, steadying herself to reply. The moment she opened her mouth though, a sickening crack resounded throughout the vault. Pyrrha whipped around, following Jaune and Ozpin's motion, only to see Cinder standing there, a sinister halo of gold surrounding her.

As Ozpin and Cinder exchanged words, the world got a bit fuzzy on Pyrrha's part. She couldn't believe herself. Because of her selfishness, and hope they had was lost. Lost and now resting in Cinder's conniving hands- the fact that Cinder was evil at all was another fact that Pyrrha's head was still struggling to wrap itself around- but it was her fault. If she had just accepted the power earlier, Cinder would be powerless, and they would have a real advantage against the grimm. Thanks to her, they were stuck now, trapped as the walls closed around them.

Jaune's cry snapped her out of her thoughts, and all she saw was him flying backwards.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha ran over to him, unloading Miló and Akoúo as she checked for any injuries. Thankfully, he was fine, just dizzy for a moment. Pyrrha didn't know what she would have done if he had been injured.

"Go find Qrow." Ozpin snapped at them, his cane at the ready. "You can't help now."

Pyrrha froze, but with another look at the sheer power Cinder was giving off, she knew Ozpin was right, even if she hated it. She dragged Jaune to his feet, making sure he was in front of her as they slipped past Cinder.

Cinder didn't even give them a passing glance.

The moment they get outside, Jaune bombarded her with questions, as he should. But she couldn't answer them- she didn't know how to answer them. Then she heard something explode, and catches a glimpse of flames that could only belong to Cinder.

"Ozpin." Jaune muttered, and Pyrrha drew in a breath. Something in her settled as she stared at the top of the tower, where she was sure Cinder was heading towards.

"Jaune." Pyrrha whispered. "Go get help. Find Qrow, Ironwood, Glynda, anybody, and send them here."

"Pyrrha, what do you mean?" Jaune moved to block off her path. "You can't fight her. You saw how strong she was. We need to get help together so that we can beat her."

Pyrrha stopped, letting her eyes look over Jaune. She finally felt like she knew what she had to do. If she was going to help anybody, if she was going to make up for her selfishness, she had to try and beat Cinder or at least hold her off until the real huntsmen could arrive.

So, with a watery smile, she let herself be selfish once last time.

Her kiss with Jaune lasted both an eternity and a moment all at once. The warmth from it lingered as Pyrrha drew away. Her breath still mingling with his, she closed her eyes, already knowing what sat directly behind him.

"I'm sorry." She said, her teeth gritting as she shoved him back into the locker. She could hear him beating on the door as she punched in the coordinates, but she wasn't about to let him try and go with her or stop her like she knew he would do.

As Pyrrha traveled closer to the elevator, her mind only seemed to get calmer. Instead of the knotting that had overridden her emotions earlier, all she could feel know was a solid block of determination. Vaguely, she wondered if this was what her parents felt when they went on missions.

Pyrrha didn't have much time to think, not with the top of the tower fast approaching. So, she took in another breath, clearing away her doubts, her hesitation, her fears.

She had always known her destiny was to help people, in some way, shape, or form. Accepting this as a part of that destiny was almost too easy, considering the turmoil she had gone through earlier, but she accepted it never the less, opening her eyes as the elevator doors opened.

Pyrrha fought with all her might, utilizing every skill she had learned throughout the years. She dodged with the speed well learned from her father, struck with the strength her mother had engraved into her, and flowed with the ease that had come from experience and from her team.

But it wasn't enough. She wasn't strong enough. A tiny part of her wondered if she ever could have been strong enough to beat both Cinder and the dragon.

As Pyrrha was brought to her knees, she wasn't thinking about her imminent death. She concentrated on the positives instead, remembering the warmness of her parent's care, the joy of feeling proud of her skills, the brightness of Nora's smile, the gentleness that encompassed Ren, inherent nobleness that Jaune represented without a second thought.

Her destiny had led her here. And she tried to fight for a new one, to rise to her feet and to keep fighting, but she was unable to.

Still, was this really all she would amount to?

Cinder was walking closer, heels clicking against the floor.

Was this what Pyrrha was worth?

As Cinder neared, all Pyrrha could think about was how she would have loved to have more time.

More time to deepen her friendships with the amazing people she had been blessed with here at Beacon, to visit her parents- she wouldn't get the chance to say goodbye to them- back home in Mistral after not seeing them for almost a year, to explore this massive world they all called home, to talk and laugh with her teammates, to kiss Jaune maybe just one more time.

Cinder drew back her arrow, and Pyrrha knew she was out of time.

"Do you believe in destiny?" Pyrrha couldn't help but ask, a strange sense of calmness enveloping her as she started at the pointed end of an arrow.

Cinder considered her for a moment, eyes narrowed.

"Yes." Something sharp stabbed into her chest, and Pyrrha choked, coughing and gasping as the pain travelled further into her chest, followed by and aching numbness.

Pyrrha couldn't keep her eyes open for long, and as they shut, she hoped.

She hoped that no matter her selfishness, no matter what may come of this night, she hoped that they could all find their destiny, their peace. Jaune, Nora, Ren, Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss, Sun, Neptune, her parents-

_Goodbye_


	61. Midnight Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, sorry for the month long hiatus out of nowhere (yet again) but on the bright side, I used that time to figure out the rest of this story! So ill be getting a new chapter out everyday until it finishes! There's going to be about 25 more chapters, or 85 in total, depending on how many epilogues I add.
> 
> Ps I promise I'll stop milking the pyrrha angst after this.

Jaune looked at his sword, adorned with golden memories and engraved tributes, and wondered where it went wrong.

Maybe it was too late for these kinds of thoughts, given the stars that were out twinkling above him, and his sleeping teammates only a few yards away. Sweat poured down his face, the video still looping on the ground nearby.

That video.

Jaune sighed, resisting the urge to chuck his sword at his scroll. Instead, he managed to walk over and shut off the scroll. He collapsed on the ground right afterwards, sweat mingling with fresh tears.

Her voice still rang in his mind at odd times, little bits of encouragement or advice that Jaune clung to.

Her voice was all that was left, really. Because sure, now his sword and shield looked a little fancier, but it wasn’t her. It wasn’t anywhere near her beauty. Nothing would be.

Apparently that was the point, according to his father. That you’re not supposed to forget someone after they’re gone, just accept things for as they were.

That was a lot like giving up though; and Jaune didn’t think he’s ready to give up just yet.

She’s still here with every step they take towards Haven. With every slash of his sword in battle or in training. With every bat on the back or encouraging praise Jaune gave out- half the time naturally, the other half trying to make up for the words that were missing. She was there, in everything but flesh.

Jaune ran a hand over his face, his gloves wiping over his eyes to pick up some of the tears. He looked back up at the sky, the stars taunting him as thin clouds drift among them. He unbuckled his shield, letting it fall to the ground. There went a tiny bit of weight off his back. 

He sheathed his sword, it took him a couple of times, with him only half looking at his weapons, but eventually it made it in. 

He looked back to where a tip of Ruby's sleeping bag stuck out, mostly hidden behind the bushes, and felt some more of the tenderness in his shoulders fade. 

He wasn't alone in this. He never would be. Yet here he was anyways. 

He couldn't help himself, with the extra training. He knew the others did it too, Ruby almost twice as much as Jaune- it was hard to not notice the sound of scythe cutting into wood and grunts of exertion as limbs punched and kicked at imaginary opponents. They were kind enough to ignore the obvious soreness of his muscles, as he was with theirs. 

Maybe they should have been like this from the start. Had this drive, this fire to win, to survive. Jaune had thought he did, but the past few months had proved how very wrong he was. But if he had, if he had trained more, fought more, done more-

Then maybe he wouldnt be relying on a video.

Jaune set a hand on the ground, pushing himself up. He grabbed his shield and scroll. He still had a few hours of watch left before it was Nora's turn. He may as well get some more practice in.

Because if anything, he would train as much as it took to ensure he didn't lose anybody else.


	62. Tagalong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to lie i see Sun and Blake as a friend/sibling relationship more than a ship now.

Blake looked out across the ocean, the scent of salt and steam mixing in her mouth as the boat rocked gently. Children scuttled across the deck behind her, accompanied by watchful parents.

Her ears no longer imprisoned by her bow, she could pick up every footstep they made with startling clarity. Her fingers tightened on the rail with every shrill scream of delight, her hands itched to reach for gambol shroud, still far too used to the terror that haunted her nightmares. She's halfway sure the dark circles under her eyes again, but this time there was no Yang to talk her out of it- and she didn't need to be anyways. Going to Menagerie was, was, was-

It was running away, of course. She shouldn't try and disguise it as anything else. This time it really was for the best though.

She'd brought that sword down over Yang's arm. Because Adam wouldn't stop chasing her; and she wasn't strong enough to stop him. She had fled at the sight of him, ran and ran and ran until she ran into Yang.

And here she was now, her friend missing an arm and her abdomen and chest still bandaged underneath her clothes. Menagerie was something she wanted- needed- she didn't know the difference.

At least now her friends would be safer. She wasn't exactly planning on staying quiet in Menagerie, and sooner or later the White Fang would catch up to her. Her, and no one else.

Footsteps shifted behind her, and Blake had to stifle a groan. It was him again. Someone was ghosting her on this ship, always covered in a thick cloak with the hood drawn up so she couldn't catch a glimpse of them. That was where their impressiveness ended though. They were loud, clunky, and their footsteps easily recognized from a distance. There was almost always a bounce in the step, the sound of shoe sliding against the floor slightly.

Blake had nearly had enough of it by this point. The first day could have been coincidence. The second day it was strange. The third day it was unsettling. And now on the fourth she wouldn't dare take her senses off them.

She stalked off, pretending to be ignorant of the way they waited a few seconds, then trailed behind her. Once she reached the other end of the boat- the one with almost nobody nearby, she's had enough.

She spun, gambol shroud flying out to pin their cloak against the side of the cabin's outer wall. Before they could get it free, she had an arm pressed against their throat, pushing them against the wall so that their hood finally fell away.

"Sun?" Blake reeled back, taking gambol shroud with her. She didn't sheath it just yet, eyeing Sun with a touch of wariness.

"Uh, hi?" Sun shrugs, smiling like he's just accomplished something amazing. Blake narrowed her eyes, Sun's smile quickly vanishing.

"Why are you even here? Following me?" Blake spat out, and Sun leaned back, tail wrapping around his legs.

"Look, you just ran off after we landed. I just sorta tagged along to make sure you were alright." Sun put his hands up, trying to calm her ire.

Blake just stomped closer, hissing. "I don't need looking after like some child."

"I'm not saying that." Sun blurted out. "Look, you just abandoned your team. They were worried about you."

"What? You just followed me for the past 8 months? And what about your team? Doesn't that seem a little hypocritical?" Blake crossed her arms, Sun shrinking back even further under her glare.

"We were all worried about you. My team came with me for most of it. But getting Neptune on a boat?" Suns laughed, shaking his head. "It's like trying to put a cat…in…water." Sun shrugged, and Blake only rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Just get out of here when we dock." Blake turned away, muttering. "I don't want anyone else with me."

"But you're like, a major target for the White Fang. Fat chance of me leaving you on your own in their home country." Sun marched up beside her, smiling, but with a stubborn sort of tilt to it Blake feared she may not be able to dissuade. "I gotta be there when you kick their buts."

"I'm not going after the White Fang Sun." Blake sighed, going to lean over the railway and watch the ocean. "I need some time to figure some things out for me before I do anything."

"But they helped destroy Beacon." Sun exclaimed, launching himself to crouch on the railway beside her. "Don't you want to get back at them."

"No Sun, I don't." Blake sighed again, wrapping her arms around herself. "If I'm being honest. I don't know what I want exactly. I'm just hoping I can figure it out here."

Sun frowned, but hummed in basic agreement. "I can respect that I guess. Can't always know everything."

"But I do know I want you to leave as soon as possible." Blake shot back. Sun clicked his tongue, playfully wagging a finger at her as he shook his head.

"I'm here whether you want me to be or not."

"I'm serious." Blake gritted out. "Next port."

Sun looked at her, and only smiled again. "No can-do buddy."

"Sun." Blake said, exasperation defining her tone.

Sun shrugged. "Suddenly I can't hear. You're going to have to get back to me later."

Blake snorted, barely resisting the urge to shove him off the boat. She could make him leave next time the boat stopped.

Still, it was a little nicer staring out into the ocean with a friend.


	63. Small Talk

Blake was leaning out against the balcony of her room; the same one she had once sworn she would never come back to. Menagerie spread out before her, half hidden in the trees.

Her door slid open. Ears perking up she turned around to give the familiar greeting whenever her teammates came back, especially with their tendency to show up when she was deep in thought.

"Blake?" Her mother was there, with tea and a worried smile, and Blake froze. "Mind if I come in?"

"Of course." Blake said, proud that her voice only trembled slightly, while also cursing herself for forgetting her situation, and where exactly her team was. Now she was at the point where she didn't want to flee from any conversation from her mother- well, she never wanted to flee but, she just, couldn't stop the nagging fear that any moment her parents were going to turn on her for all the hurtful words she had spouted years before. She hadn't even apologized to them yet out of fear of how they would handle it. It only got worse when she added her team in Beacon into the mix.

But small talk with her mother over tea? Blake thought she could handle that. Her mother was adept at carrying a conversation, with much more tact than Sun.

"Were you expecting someone else?" Her mother asked the moment the tea was laid out. Always straight to the point.

Blake's shoulder's slumped. "No- yes- sort of- not really. It doesn't matter."

"You know," Her mother took a sip of tea as she begins, looking at Blake with warm eyes. "I never hear much about how Vale was, or about Beacon. Most of what I've heard has come from Sun."

"Oh. I guess I just. Never found a reason to bring it up." Blake hummed, ears twitching.

"That's too bad. I would like to hear more about your teammates." Her mother sets down her glass. "We've certainly got a lot of tea."

"Um." Blake swallowed. She wanted her mother to know about her friends, the real ones she had made, but she's at a loss of words when it comes to describing them. "Well, Ruby is- was our leader. She was admitted early due to her skill. She can't talk; well, physically she can but… she can't. We made it work; she was smart enough to come up with unique ways to get around it. She scared me a couple times because I thought she had figured out I was a Faunus."

Her mother looked worried at that admission, but now the words were coming out and Blake couldn't really make herself stop.

"I didn't really like Weiss much at first. I may have hated her. I thought she was a stuck up racist brat. And she was, on some level. But she's more then what she appears. She has a grudge against the White Fang, but no dislike for Faunus in particular. She's stubborn, but with enough evidence you can convince her. She has a good heart, she just doesn't know how to show it. She's a good person." Blake sucked in a breath, remembering far too well her last teammate, her partner as assigned by chance, and the person she had let down more than anyone.

"Y-Yang, was loud and bright. She was even more upbeat than Ruby. She got me, in a way. She even managed to pull me back when I got to obsessed over finding what the White Fang was planning."

"What happened honey? If I can ask." Her mother reached out across the table, putting Blake's trembling hand in hers.

"She- Adam, he-" Blake made an effort to calm her panicked breaths before continuing, her voice now steadier. "She lost her arm. And it's my fault. I don't even know how she's doing now."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that. And I'm sorry that happened to your friend." Her mother pulled her in for a hug, Blake sinking into the firm hold. "But whatever happened to this Yang is not your fault. You didn't cut off her arm. Okay?"

Blake nodded, swallowing down the lies as her hands tighten around her mother's shirt.


	64. Working Pace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap my life has been a complete basket case lately. Probably why this chapter is Weiss based.

Weiss was pacing, as she often found herself doing, from wall to wall of her room. She couldn't stay still. She had to be doing something instead of being useless.

She had already been idle far too much.

She couldn't find Myrtenaster though, her father had taken it when she arrived and she hadn't seen it since. She knew better than to ask him though.

So, for now, she paced. And when she's not pacing, she's working, trying to use her limited skills to work on hand to hand combat, forms, and everything else she can do without her sword.

She took breaks to read, stretch, and go out of her room for the appropriate amount of time. She still went down to the garden, trying her best to avoid her mother if she's ever out there.

The garden was always her mother's favorite place for drinks.

It's nothing though. This was the same house she had grown up in, she could last a few more months… years… decades.

But that wasn't the point.

She turned, nearly slamming into the wall, as she stormed back over to the opposite side.

She thought she could handle this, that this had been the right thing to do, the only thing to do. She had fallen right back into line the moment her father showed his face, despite her constant determination to do just the opposite.

She couldn't believe herself.

How could she just do that?

And she knew, she knew, that logically, it had been a lot of things. The attack, the fact that over half the people she considered her closest friends we're either injured or gone, the fact that she didn't have anywhere to go besides for home.

Still, now she was here and regretting every decision that had led up to this.

Her hands clench at her sides. As her teeth grit together, she spun and slammed a fist into the wall, knowing no one will be able to hear her.

She was a certifiable idiot, that much was clear. But there was still time. To make it out, to find a way to contact her teammates thousands upon thousands of miles away, to amend the toxic atmosphere of this place somehow; she didn't know exactly what yet.

But she wasn't going to do any of that if she was sitting still. Weiss sucked in a breath, relaxing the tension in her muscles. Her fingers curled around an invisible sword, her legs drawing together as she got into position.

She had work to do.


	65. Traces of You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weiss finally realizes things.

Weiss shifts in her dress, the once familiar feeling of fabric cascading over her body an unwelcome one after her months at Beacon. At least by now the concert was done with, so all she would have to do is smile and stand by her father to be shown off at his pleasure.

As she looked at the crowd though, a streak of red catches her eye, and she whipped around so fast she even surprised herself. She searched the crowd for any sign of the red she had seen, eyes flitting from person to person almost frantically.

Her gaze finally landed on the source, a woman in a long red dress who is chatting with a group of other women.

Weiss swallowed down the disappointment that builds in her chest. It was pointless to think that any one of her teammates had somehow managed to make it to Atlas, let alone inside here. She needed to focus on what was happening in front of her.

Her father laughed at a passing comment, moving away to start up a conversation with its owner. Weiss trailed behind him, giving Whitely a passing glance. He looked like he was actually enjoying this. Figured.

Weiss let her eyes wander over the crowd again, nearly pausing when another red garment enters her line of sight. She shook her head, trying to get her mind away from red and the person she most associated it with.

Her efforts were in vain though, and she was starting to get annoyed with herself. She thought she was able to handle the forced distance between her and her teammates. But apparently her mind had other ideas.

At one point she ended up by one of the small tables lining the edges of the banquet hall. As she looked at the vase of flowers decorating it, something catches in her throat.

It would be her luck that they used roses.

She stared at them for a solid minute or two before reaching out to pick one up. She twisted it in her fingers, watching how the petals reflect the light. Something pricked her, and she hissed quietly.

Weiss unfurled her hand, seeing a pinpoint of blood on her fingertip, one of the rose’s thorns stained with its color. Weiss didn’t do anything though, she simply stared at the flower and the blood, and remembered.

She remembered a pest, the annoying girl that wouldn’t leave her alone in the beginning. The erratic, scatterbrained girl who always seemed to be doing 3 things at once, all without saying a word. The girl that would rush into something blind and only making an actual plan once they all were on the verge of losing. The naivety and child-like hope that never seemed to suit the kind of work they were preparing for.

But Weiss also remembered the peace that came from being around her. The simplicity of their interactions once they came to know one another. The partner, while unchosen in the beginning, had pushed Weiss to better herself in subtle ways. The few late night moments they had shared. The way she would always be so expressive and open, and see the hope in every situation. The girl that had a speed and a grace to her when fighting, and a clumsiness in any other situation. A smile that brightened up any room, with eyes to match. The way the sunlight always seemed to enshroud her in a-

Weiss stopped herself, realizing just how warm her face was. She put the rose back and hastily wiped off her finger on one of the innermost folds of her dress.

She couldn’t let herself go down that far. Because- because- because-

This is exactly what her crush on Neptune had felt like, except unlike that, which had faded quickly, this was deeper than Weiss ever wanted to know.

Her thoughts took every opportunity to bring up Ruby, so much so it was suffocating at times.

She couldn’t have a crush on Ruby though- she couldn’t- she couldn’t- she couldn’t. She just couldn’t.

But that fact couldn’t stop her from pausing still, second checking every person or thing that even remotely reminded Weiss of Ruby.

Maybe one day she would grow smart enough to move on.


	66. Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who has the sat in 3 days? T-T But writing Blake is very cathartic tbh

Blake Belladonna, once a former terrorist, second in command to Adam Taurus, a student at Beacon, survivor of the fall of Beacon, the girl who traveled alone for the six months with no issue, was shaking like a leaf as she looked at her parents' door.

The home was even more intimidating than she remembered. All elegant lines and intricate carvings, balconies spread from every upper room, the forest appearing to bend around the home rather than overtake it- it was a place that was as foreign to Blake as Vacuo would have been. Well, it wasn't the house itself that intimidated her, not as much as the prospect of facing the people inside did.

"What're you waiting for? This is your house… right?" Sun stood idly beside her, and Blake couldn't tell if his nonchalant tone was a response or just ignorance to her obvious terror. "I'm sure your parents are stoked to see you already."

"You-" Blake paused, swallowing down the wave of memories; the tension built up for months as she grew closer and closer to Adam, coming to a head the night she screamed at her father for stepping down from the White Fang, calling both of her parents cowards, and then ran without ever looking back. "You don't understand, Sun. I- I…" She trailed off, unsure of what to say next.

"Look," Sun's tail wrapped around her arm in a comforting way. "you at least have to talk to them. All that stuff is in the past. This is a new Blake, and you gotta show them that much at least."

Sun grins, and Blake could feel her free arm inching closer to the large knocker at the door. Before she touches it though, her hand freezes, fingers twitching. She whispered, "They'll hate me. They have to hate me by now."

Blake couldn't face that. That night, her parents hadn't said a word back, simply letting her go. But she wasn't stupid, no reasonable parents would still love their kid after that. Blake was starting to consider turning around and just living on the streets until she could think of a better idea.

Sun took matters into his own hands though. Faster than she could stop him with her distracted mind, his hand shot forward and slammed the knocker down three times.

"Sun!" Blake hissed, ears going as flat as they could, nearly parallel to her hair.

"I'm sorry," Sun said, and he sounded sincere. "but you weren't going to do it and your parents deserve the chance to see you."

It was then that Blake registered that the tail wrapped around her arm was also there to stop her from running away. She could break free and run if she really wanted to, but the tail on her arm grounded her, reminding her just how large the ache in her chest was, and just how much she wanted to see her parents' faces again.

So Blake took in a deep breath and tried to straighten her spine. Her shoulders stayed hunched, but it was about as good as she was going to get.

The door started to open, and any air in Blake's lungs promptly left her in a shaky exhale.

"H-hi mom."


	67. Watching, Waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ren has trouble settling down lately, although his fears may not be completely unfounded.

When they finally reached a town with an inn, Ren supposed he should be happier. However, the sensation of being watched wouldn't leave him, drifting in and out of the forefront of his mind almost constantly now.

He tried bringing it up to Nora, hoping that maybe she had more of an inkling. Sadly, nothing had come of it, with no one else on the team having any sense of being followed.

Now they sleep, sharing the room with one bed because they didn't want to waste money on anything more expensive, but Ren was still awake. He sharpened his blades as quietly as possible, hoping the repetitive action will lull his thoughts into silence.

It wasn't working so far, and Ren is halfway sure the blades would cut off a finger if he dropped them. He sighed, setting the blade down gently. He leaned back against the wall, looking towards the window across from him.

Moonlight filtered in through the windowpanes, highlighting the wooden floor in soft shades. Outside a bird caws, some sort of crow or raven.

The cry sat Ren more on edge, and he started to go through his usual stretches. The feeling of his muscles tightening then relaxing helped to distract him.

He was almost done with a set of pushups when Ruby shot up out of bed, panting. Ren rose to a sitting position, signing,  _"Nightmare?"_

Ruby didn't see him at first, eyes frantically searching the room for something Ren couldn't see. When they finally land on him though, Ruby relaxed, letting out a deep sigh.

" _It's fine."_  Ruby signed back shakily, her hands dropping with the last motion. Ren raised his eyebrows, and Ruby ducked her head off to the side. Her fair fell in front of her face, but Ren could see the way her back shakes with every breath.

"Ruby." He said simply, an offering more than anything else. Silence overtook the two again, only punctured by their breaths.

" _Snow."_ Ren caught the sign out of the corner of his eye, having moved to glare out the window as the prickling at the back of his neck returned. Ruby was looking down into her lap now, her signing subdued.  _"There was just snow, and flowers, and someone laughing."_ At the Ruby shudders, her hands coming up to her ears as if she could still hear it.

Ren didn't say anything, waiting for her to finish.

Ruby brought her hands back down, turning her head until the moonlight shone in her eyes.  _"My dreams aren't good. Ever. And everything was white like-"_ Ruby stopped, gritting her teeth and closing her eyes.

"Is this the first?" Ren asked. Ruby shook her head. Ren hummed slightly. "Dreams have meaning, but this could very well be a happy sign as much as a tragic one. Although I hope your dreams after this offer a more positive perception."

" _Thank you."_  Ruby huffed out a breath of air, she rolled over to go lay down again, but froze halfway through, giving Ren a curious look.  _"Why aren't you sleeping?"_

"Nerves." Ren gave the simple answer, rather than explaining the feeling in its entirety.

" _You should seriously get some sleep. We have a long way to go tomorrow. Besides we're safe here, at least much safer than we were in the forest."_ Ruby looked at him, concern blatant.

"I'll try." Ren promised, hoping it would be enough to let Ruby fall back into sleep. Ruby, however, didn't move.

" _I can stay up and watch if you want."_ Ruby offered.  _"You need sleep."_

Ren glanced out the window again, and upon seeing nothing, sighed. He rose to his feet, shuffling over to where his sleeping bag is laid out next to Nora's. Jaune had gotten the bed, still suffering from a few scratches on his side from an Alpha Ursa.

When he laid down, Ruby copied the motion. Under his breath, but sure that Ruby can hear him, he said, "Goodnight."

From there he stared at the ceiling, his eyelids growing heavier by the second. He thought he had been doing all right, but the past few weeks of only getting a minimal amount of sleep was starting to catch up with him.

When he finally closed his eyes, letting sleep overtake him, he missed the black bird sitting on the windowsill. Its beady eyes flashed before it took off, flying into the night.


End file.
